


Blackout

by Fave101



Series: Blackout [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-03-26 14:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 26,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13859322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fave101/pseuds/Fave101
Summary: Canada is believed to have one of the lowest ghoul populations in the world, but that couldn't be further from the truth.  The ghouls across the country know the truth and the nation behind it.





	1. Chapter One

Blackout

 

Chapter One

 

**Started October 1st 2017**

 

**AN:  This fic will be posted every other Saturday!**

 

Canada grumbled tilting his head slightly watching his target through his scope.  He was currently perched on top of a nearby building just south of the boarder watching the man mill about his nightly tasks.  Dylan Lisk, known mobster and drug dealer, was the nation's target.  One of his fellow 'coworkers' had wanted him gone enough to put out a contract on his life.

 

Matthew had taken that contract.  It would pay well and the world wouldn't miss this man.  The nation didn't have a huge thirst for blood, but killing bad people for money helped ghouls all over Canada.  He didn't keep any of the money he earned from the hits.  All of it went into a fund to keep ghouls across Canada safe and hidden.

 

The blond shifted his rifle watching as the man finally dismissed his assistant for the night and relaxed on his couch.  Matthew waited another couple minutes watching the assistant drive off before taking aim.  He took a breath and fired.  The crack of his rifle would be missed in the sounds of the city at night.  The mobster slumped forward into his coffee table and didn't move.

 

Canada quickly packed up his rifle and stood up.  He reached into his pocket and dropped his card on the rooftop.  When the police found the body they would be able to piece together what happened and find his card.  It would be reported on the news that the Red-Winged Blackbird had struck again and the contract would be complete.

 

The blond walked over to the edge of the roof top and stepped off.  He let himself fall a couple of stories before releasing his wing like kagune.  He spread his wings slowing his fall landing gracefully in the alley below.  As Canada's kagune disappeared, he pulled up his hood and walked quickly down the street to his red sports bike.

 

\-----❄"I've been around you so long I feel like some of the slythrin has seeped from you to me."❄-----

 

Matthew was half asleep by the time he pulled into his driveway.  None of the lights were on so Gilbert must be in bed; very normal for four in the morning.  Blackbird drove his bike into the garage and dropped his rifle off on the work bench before going inside.  

 

It was a little cooler than the normal toasty warm Prussia liked to keep the temperature at.  Canada didn't mind the cold as he moved through the quiet house.   He yawned as he climbed up the stairs to the bedroom.  He could hear the albino snoring lightly from underneath the covers as he entered the room.  Matthew smiled seeing Kuma and Gilbird sleeping at the foot of the bed.

 

Blackbird felt so lucky to have Prussia in his life.  They had dated for quite a while before Canada had worked up the courage to tell Gilbert about being a ghoul.  The Prussian hadn't reacted as bad as Matthew thought he would.  Yes, he had been angry and scared, but he didn't run away like Canada expected him too.  None of the other nations knew he was a ghoul, not even his 'family.'

 

They had been able to talk through things.  Matthew was able to explain that he only killed bad people, the ones that had committed terrible crimes.  He knew and watched these people until someone sent him a contract.  Canada didn't always eat his contracted targets; he didn't eat often and knew how to manage his hunger.  Occasionally he would have to stop for a quick snack, but even then he was extremely picky.  

 

Matthew also explained why he took these contracts.  Canada was a safe haven for ghouls that were escaping from violence in other countries.  The government didn't exactly know the system that had been in place for years.  Funeral homes across the country were run by ghouls and had hidden clauses in their paperwork to make what they were doing 'legal.'

 

Canada shook his head with a smile and quickly changed into his pjs.  He went back over to the bed and slowly sunk into it trying to not wake the sleeping Prussian.  The ghoul knew it didn't work as warm hands wrapped around his waist.

 

"Jou're cold."  Gilbert grumbled pulling him closer.  He tucked his head into the crook of Matthew's neck and sighed.

 

"You're warm."  Blackbird hummed closing his eyes.  He knew they had a meeting in the morning and wanted to get some sleep.

 

\-----❄"Never trust anyone too much; remember the devil was once an angel."❄-----

 

Canada woke up late the next morning.  It was almost noon and the sun was shining through the windows.  He could smell the scent of coffee coming from down stairs. He groaned and sat up before heading into the bathroom to take a quick shower.  

 

Matthew got dressed and went downstairs.  He made his way into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before going to find Prussia.  Kuma was sleeping on top of one of the kitchen counters in the sun.  He looked up as Blackbird entered before lying back down.  Canada poured himself a cup of coffee and looked out the window.

 

Prussia was sitting outside sipping his coffee in a Muskoka chair under an umbrella while reading the paper.  Canada laughed a little bit seeing this.  He walked over and went out leaving the door open just in case Kuma wanted out.

 

"Morning."  The Canadian said sitting in the chair beside Prussia.

 

"Barely.  It's almost noon."  Gilbert said setting his paper down.  Gilbird flew from his hair into Matthew's with a cheep.  "Remember there's a meeting today?"

 

"Yup."  He said taking a sip of coffee.  "Good thing it's later in the day.  Otherwise I would have slept through it."

 

"Ve'll have to leave in an hour if ve vant to get there on time."  Prussia said yawning slightly.  "Vhat time did jou get home last night?"

 

"About four in the morning."  Canada shrugged.  "Have you watched the news yet?"

 

"Not yet, I just got up a little while ago.  When are you going to take care of that ghoul?  He was in the news again last night."  Prussia asked raising an eyebrow.

 

"Tonight, probably.  I'll go after the meeting and track them down."  Canada yawned taking another sip of coffee.

 

"I guess ve should go in."  Prussia said standing up and offering a hand to Canada.  Matthew took it and Gilbert pulled him up.  The albino pulled him close and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

 

Matthew was expecting the move and giggled.  He leaned down to kiss him again and sneakily picked up the smaller nation bridle style.  Prussia broke the kiss with a laugh and wrapped his arms around Canada's neck as he was carried back into the house to the couch.

 

Blackbird sat Gilbert down lightly on the couch and sat down next to him.  Prussia turned on the TV and switched it over to the news channel.  The first thing to pop up was a story about the southern US getting snow.  A few moments later 'breaking news' flashed across the screen and the news of Dylan Lisk's death was announced and they reported it was Blackbird's doing.

 

"That one vill rock the underground."  Gilbert said.  "Vonder how long it will take for his successor to be replaced as well?"

 

"Not too long probably."  Matthew said with a shrug.  "We need to get ready and get on the road."

 

**AN:  I know that Canada's kagune would rip holes into his clothes, but shhhh.  Have any questions?  Ask me on Tumblr @tallpoppy-Canada**

 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

After an hour of driving, they finally arrived at Toronto city hall. The pair had decided to take their pickup instead of the motorcycle. It was supposed to snow later in the day. Parking was a nightmare, as usual, but Canada had a few special hidden spots.

Once they got parked they walked down the street to city hall. It was a little bit chilly out and was supposed to snow that night. Matthew wore a hoodie under a dark jean jacket with black jeans and work boots. Prussia was dressed in one of Canada's sweaters that were huge on him. He also had blue jeans and dark blue Converse.

Canada spotted a few other nations walking towards the hall as well. Gilbert poked his shoulder and pointed at one of the cars. Germany was driving with Italy in the passenger and Romano in the back. The blond looked annoyed searching for a parking space. Prussia jumped and waved at his brother with a snicker.

"He never learns." The albino said with a smile. "They should take a taxi, it vould be easier."

"Especially because their hotel is around the corner." Matthew said as they started walking again. "Would probably save on the cost of renting the car."

"Vell, you know he loves driving and is stubborn." Prussia said. "He learned that from me."

"Oh definitely." Blackbird laughed. The couple walked for another minute before reaching city hall. As they entered there were a few nations already around. England and France came their way as soon as they spotted the pair.

"Bonjour Matthew, hi Gil." Francis greeted with a warm smile. Arthur just nodded in acknowledgement.

"Salute papa et Pere." Canada said politely with a small smile.

"Hallo Francy Pants." Prussia smirked with a wave. He gave a curt nod in England's direction. "Spain's not here yet? I didn't see him vith Romano."

"I think he said he was going to visit Mexico. Knowing them they'll probably show up late." Francis said. The pair continued to talk for a while. Matthew was constantly scanning the lobby.

Lately, America had been watching him closely during meetings. Normally the blond would completely ignore Canada which he was fine with. The Canadian did not have a good relationship with his 'brother.' Ever since 1812 neither one had really talked much. Things had happened during that war that made Blackbird very uncomfortable around Alfred. He was very confident in almost every other aspect of his life, but as soon as America entered the room he became skittish and tense.

Most other nations that didn't know him thought he was quiet and very submissive, but that was only true when the American was around. They didn't know he was the Red-Winged Blackbird. A bolt of nervousness shot through him as he picked up America's scent. Blackbird didn't bother looking towards the American. He already knew that he had come with Japan just by scent. The Canadian was mentally tracking America's movements.

"Ha, West finally arrived." Prussia said getting Matthew's attention. "He's only ten minutes early too."

"That's late for him." Canada smiled. The pair walked over to where Germany and the Italian brothers were and greeted them.

"Hallo bro!" Prussia yelled loudly slapping Ludwig on the back.

"Hello Gilbert, Matthew." Germany grunted rubbing his back. Prussia just snickered.

"It's getting quite-a cold out there." Romano muttered unzipping his coat and letting the warm air in. "I hate it."

"Aww come on Lovi, it's not that bad." Italy said happily. "It could-a snow tonight!"

"Oh great, I can't wait. I'm sooo excited." Lovino groaned rolling his eyes. "No offence Matt."

"None taken." Canada shrugged. "But seriously, this is nothing. It's not even below zero yet."

"So I've been-a told." Romano grumbled giving Germany a dirty look. The blond German just rolled his eyes.

"Vell then, let's get started." Germany called loudly across the lobby catching the nations attention. The nations walked towards the German and followed him towards the meeting hall.

-❄"(wheeze)"❄-

The meeting took a couple hours and was pretty boring. Canada was aware of Alfred's eyes on him for most of the meeting. He completely ignored the American for the most part. Only slightly paying attention to his presentation, but he barely payed attention to anyone's presentation anyways.

Once it was over, Prussia, Canada, Germany, Spain and the Italies stuck around and talked for a little while. A few other nations stuck around, but Alfred, Arthur and Francis had already left. Canada was always mentally scent tracking the American when he was around.

"Vhat are you guys doing tonight?" Prussia asked Germany. Italy had stayed with the German, but Romano had just left with Spain.

"Ve're going to go back to the hotel and turn in early. Ve fly out early tomorrow morning." Germany explained with a sigh. "I have to be back for a meeting vith our boss."

"I don't need to be there do I?" The albino asked raising an eyebrow. Ludwig quickly shook his head and Prussia sighed in relief.

"I vould have told jou vell in advance." The blond said. "I'll send you the notes to look over if jou vant."

"Okay West." Gilbert said with a smirk. Matthew knew that the Prussian probably wouldn't even touch them.

"Will see you guys at the next meeting!" Italy said once they reached the street. "Hopefully we'll be-a able to talk longer next time!"

They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Prussia and Canada walked hand in hand down the street to their parking spot. Matthew paused and gave the truck keys to Gilbert. The albino climbed into the driver's seat and rolled down the window. Blackbird crossed his arms and put them on the ledge before resting his chin on them.

"Jour going after that ghoul?" Prussia asked and Matthew nodded. "I know I say this every time, but please be careful."

"I will be, as always." Canada said standing up on his tip toes to kiss Gilbert's cheek. "Drive careful and I'll be home before you know it."

"Okay." Prussia said biting his lip. He started the truck and drove off as Matthew waved. The blond turned away and stared down the street. He had an idea of where he was going, but not exactly where the ghoul would be.

Canada decided to call for more information. He dialled and waited.

"Hello Mattie!" Shayne answered. He was part of a small squad of ghouls that would help Blackbird keep tabs on different 'problem' ghouls. "Looking for info?"

"Yeah, on the one that's been hanging around Toronto." Matthew replied ducking into an alleyway.

"We don't have too much on him. As far as we know, he's male, about 5'10, dark short cut hair and brown eyes. Apparently he came up from Cali. He's got about eight kills so far." Shayne said. "We don't have a name, but Blair managed to stick a tracker to him. I'll send the feed to your phone now."


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

**AN: Happy Easter/April Fools! Also, been posting little meme/vine mini fic things on my Tumblr ( tallpoppy-canada) and posting a bunch of aph Canada related things!**

Matthew got the notification for the tracker and thanked Shayne before hanging up. He started to follow the tracker and it led him to a bar midtown. Blackbird stepped inside and used his nose to pick out the ghoul. It wasn't too hard since there was only one other ghoul in the bar.

The ghoul looked up as soon as Canada entered and glared at him. He stood up from his place at the bar and narrowed his eyes before turning on his heal and heading out the back door. Matthew followed expecting an ambush from the ghoul as soon as he opened the door, but there wasn't one. The Californian ghoul leaned against the opposite alley wall as Blackbird closed the door behind himself.

"I'm assuming that you're the Red-Winged Blackbird I've heard so much about?" The ghoul smirked looking up, eyes black and red. Matthew didn't say anything, but just watched closely. "They said you were pretty quiet too. Anyways, I'm Enzo Louda or better known as Huntsman Spider."

Canada raised an eyebrow. He had heard a little bit about the Huntsman. Enzo was a rinkaku ghoul known to hunt down rivals in California. There was no doubt that this guy wasn't just going to leave.

"You're the one I've been waiting to fight. I've been looking for you for quite a while. I had to get your attention first though, that was annoying." Enzo grumbled. "In hindsight, I should have just sent you a contract, but I know you're picky."

"And I check all the sources of the contracts sent my way. I would know that something was up." Canada said tilting his head; this ghoul loved to talk. "Are we going to stand around all day or are we going to fight?"

"Very quick to the point." Huntsman said. Matthew could see his kagune starting to materialize behind his back. "Not my style, but okay."

Canada jumped out of the way of the Huntsman's first strike. His eight spider like leg tentacles shot after the blond. Blackbird jumped up into the air to avoid the attack and released his own kagune. He used his crystallized wings to fire shards at his enemy. Enzo crossed his kagune above his head to block the crystals. He managed to stop some of them, but others lodged into his feet and legs. Huntsman growled and quickly yanked the spikes out keeping an eye on the Blackbird.

Matthew landed back on the ground and brought his wings in front of himself to block another swipe from the Huntsman. He pushed back with a growl and readied to hop back up into the air. Suddenly one of the legs shot out and wrapped around Canada's ankle. Enzo lifted him up into the air and slammed him back down on to the ground.

The Canadian hissed feeling a few ribs crack, but pushed through the pain knowing they would heal quickly. He felt the Huntsman start to pull him back into the air again. Matthew twisted while in the air and used his wing to cut his leg free. Enzo was recovering from the missing leg as Canada came down quickly slashing with his kagune. He took a fast downward strike at the base of the Huntsman kagune. Blackbird managed to slice through five of the spider like legs before quickly hopping away.

The Huntsman howled in pain and almost fell backwards because of the force. Matthew decided to go for a low blow and shot crystals at Enzo's feet. He directed the shards more towards the Achilles tendon. His aim was dead on; both of the tendons were severed. The Huntsman collapsed backwards no longer able to stand the pain. He rolled onto his chest and tried to push himself up, but collapsed back on to the ground.

Blackbird stalked around into Enzo's field of vision. The Huntsman swiped at him again with his remaining kagune, but Matthew easily blocked the weak blows and shot a few shards from his wings into the Huntsman's back into his spine to keep him on the ground. There was no way for him to recover quickly.

"Good one." Enzo groaned looking up at Canada. Blackbird only raised an eyebrow at the comment. "I heard that you were efficient."

Matthew didn't bother to let the ghoul keep talking. Instead, he shot a spike of crystal through the Huntsman's neck; effectively silencing him for good. Blackbird's kagune disappeared as he dropped one of his cards by Enzo's body. It had started to snow and by the time someone would find the body it would be covered.

The Canadian never showed mercy to ghouls that came into his country and killed his citizens. He used to give warnings many years ago, but now because of the Red-Winged Blackbird's reputation around the world, he didn't bother. He left his card as a warning to other ghouls that he was still around and still protecting the citizens of Canada.

-❄"Pitter patter."❄-

Matthew locked the door behind him as he entered through the front of the house. He had taken a taxi home and was ready for bed. He yawned and took his jacket off before walking into the living room. Prussia was sprawled out on the couch with the TV on playing something from YouTube, but the albino was fast asleep.

Canada smiled tiredly; Gilbert looked adorable all cuddled up on the couch. He almost didn't want to wake the sleeping Prussian, but he knew that Gilbert would complain about his back in the morning. The blond quietly walked over and crouched beside Prussia before lightly brushing some hair out of his face.

Gilbert blinked awake. "Birdie." He said reaching for Canada. He wrapped his arms around Matthews's neck and gave him a sleepy kiss. The Canadian slowly lifted him up off the couch bridal style and started to carry the albino to bed. He set Gilbert down on the bed and went to get into his pyjamas, but Prussia wrapped his arms around Canada's waist and pulled him back into bed with a yelp. He was happy that his ribs had already healed. "Stay." Prussia said holding on tightly.

"I was just going to get undressed." Matthew said quietly.

"I can do that for jou." Prussia purred. He clearly wasn't half asleep anymore. The albino was on top of him with his fingers in Matthew's belt loops.

"Hmmm, okay." Canada hummed wrapping his arms around the back of Gilbert's neck and brought him down for a kiss.

**AN: Sorry, not gonna write smut. Not really my thing. Really need to watch when posting this and 'Dawn of a New Age' on the same night. So paranoid that I'll get the chapters mixed up.**


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

**AN: Quite a bit of exposition in this one. And posting early cuz we're supposed to be getting a nasty ice storm this weekend. Knowing my luck, we won't have power…**

A couple of months later in the early morning Matthew was awoke by his phone ringing on the bedside table. Canada groaned and reached for it.

Prussia grumbled and looked up. "Wie spät ist es?" He slurred sleepily.

"France." Matthew said laying back and answering the phone. "Hello."

"Bon matin, Matthew!" France greeted loudly. Canada winced at the loudness. "I hope I didn't wake you. Anyways, New Years is coming up and Alfred is throwing his annual party! Unfortunately it's required for all nations to go. You know it counts at the 'meeting' for the month."

"Really unfortunate." Canada grumbled half asleep.

"And because America is too lazy to call everyone, he called us, we call you and then you're supposed to call Australia." France said. "Arbres d'appel stupides."

"I'll call Jett later when I get a chance." Blackbird said stifling a yawn. Prussia laughed quietly next to him resting his chin on the Canadians shoulder. "Hotels and flights are our responsibility?"

"Yes, but Alfred is offering a few rooms for the night. If you want to stay longer, you'll need a hotel." Francis said. Matthew could hear England saying something in the background. "Oh, got to go! Au revoir!"

"Bye Papa." Matthew sighed hanging up and putting his phone back on the bedside table before turning back over.

"Jou do flights and I'll do hotel?" Gilbert asked as Matthew lied back down.

"Yeah, but morning." Blackbird said with another yawn. Prussia pulled him closer and Canada tucked his head in the crook of the albino's neck.

-❄" .uk."❄-

"Or ve could just drive down?" Prussia suggested. "If jou're picking up a contract down there it would be easier to get your rifle through the boarder."

Matthew nodded agreeing. The weather was supposed to be pretty warm, no snow or rain in the forecast. They would save money on flights and not have to rent a car. "Bike or truck?"

"Might as vell take the bike. It's supposed to be relatively varm for December." Gilbert said as Canada gave him his coffee. The blond sat down next to him on the couch with his own mug and looked at the laptop screen. Prussia was still picking out a hotel. "Vhat do jou think of this one?"

"That looks pretty cool." Matthew said looking over the details. He wasn't too picky about where they would stay; it was only for two nights anyways.

America's party every year was a point of stress for Canada. Being in such close quarters with the American made him very tense. Every year he stressed so much about going, but then nothing ever happened.

"Late checkout too, vhich is always good." Gilbert said starting to book. Canada reached forward to grab his glasses off the coffee table and put them on. He only really needed them to read. Blackbird started to browse through the contracts he'd been sent in the past couple of weeks.

One in particular caught his eye. It was a contract for Denis Soden, the man who had payed him to kill Dylan Lisk a few months ago. He looked over the details and did a quick search for Denis's schedule. He found quite a bit of solid information on the dark web from inside of the boss's inner circle. It turned out that Soden would be just an hour away the night before Alfred's party.

Blackbird made sure to check into who had sent the contract and where it had come from. He traced it back to a phone in northern Kentucky. He cross-referenced where the person who had sent it would have been at the time. He also checked over a few other things making sure everything lined up. All of it did. He also scouted a few possible buildings to shoot from, but decided to just get in close and use his kagune. He needed to remember to visit Zyler and Amity before he left.

Canada accepted the contract and sent loose details of where and when the hit would happen. He wasn't loyal to anyone in the underground or mob scene. He kept his identity completely hidden.

The image of the 'Red-Winged Blackbird' was pretty skewed. Some people thought that he was more than one person; a group of assassins and ghouls based in Canada. Others thought that the Blackbird was a long line of ghouls. Even people and other hitmen in the underground didn't know the truth about the Blackbird. There were very few people that did.

Prussia was one of the few who did. Of course he'd only seen the ghoul side of Canada once or twice. Matthew tended to keep Gilbert far away from any business with his contracts or problem ghouls. He was occasionally introduced to a ghoul here and there. He knew all of the ghouls in Matthew's small network and a couple of the undertakers.

The first couple of times the albino had met a person he knew was a ghoul he was nervous that they would try to take a bite. He knew that they wouldn't, especially because Matthew was there. Canada had seemed to sense the discomfort and brought it up later. He told Prussia that nations didn't smell the same as a human and didn't really smell like food to a ghoul. Gilbert was a bit offended at first, but Canada reassured him that he didn't smell bad laughing the whole time.

"Do ve have to do anything today?" Gilbert asked closing the laptop and setting it on the coffee table. He stretched out and rested his head on Canada's shoulder.

"I have some papers to pick up, but I can put it off for a day or three." Matthew said with a yawn. Being woken up so early and attempting to fall back asleep had been hard on him. It didn't bother the Prussian because he was more of a morning person. "Are you hungry?"

"Lil bit." Prussia admitted looking up at him.

"Want pancakes?" The Canadian asked and Gilbert's eyes lit up. "You make coffee and I'll make the pancakes?"

"Deal!" Prussia said jumping up and pulling Matthew up with him. He led the blond to the kitchen and started to make coffee. It didn't take him to long and soon he was hovering around Canada watching him cook.

Matthew was a really good cook despite not really being able to eat any of it. He liked cooking too, even though it smelled terrible to him. Whatever seemed to smell the worst, tasted the best to a normal person. Canada flipped the first one onto a plate and Prussia hopped up on the counter and started to eat. He got half way through the first pancake before he remembered to grab maple syrup.

"What do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Matthew asked flipping the last one onto Prussia's plate.

"Movie marathon?" Prussia asked. "Or a new season of Letterkenny just came out?"

"Oh I forgot about that." Canada said setting the pan off to the side to cool off. He leaned on the counter next to where Gilbert was finishing his pancakes.

"Well, pitter patter." Prussia said doing a terrible imitation of the Canadian's accent.

Matthew smile and rolled his eyes. "You're doing the dishes then, eh?"

"Fine." Prussia grumbled hopping off the counter. Canada laughed blowing him a kiss and heading into the living room.

**AN: Also, if you want updates about when I'm posting or if something has changed please follow my tumblr(TallPoppy-Canada). I post a bunch of APH Canada stuff as well as the occasional oneshot! You can also ask me any question about my versions of Canada or about me.**


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Got everything?" Matthew asked putting his glasses into their case and throwing them into the backpack. Gilbert finished folding a shirt and put it into the backpack.

"Yup." The albino said zipping up the backpack. They were traveling light, only taking one small backpack between the two of them. They were only staying two nights before going back home. "Jou should be more careful vith those." Prussia warned.

Matthew smiled shyly then gasped remembering something. "Oh, one more thing." Canada said grabbing his mask out of his coat pocket. He always carried his mask. His mask was a dark red maple leaf that covered the lower half of his face. Gilbert unzipped a small pocket and let Matthew fold it and put it inside. "Now we've got everything."

"Good." Prussia smiled closing the pocket. "Jou're off the visit Zyler and Amity?"

The blond nodded. "I won't take too long; we'll get on the road as soon as I get back." Matthew said leaning down to give the Prussian a kiss on the forehead. "You can come if you want?"

"I still have to do some cleaning." Gilbert sighed with a frown. "Next time."

"Okay, I'll get gas on the way home so we don't have to stop on the way down." Matthew said picking up his helmet off the kitchen counter. "I'll be back in an hour or two."

"Ich liebe dich." The Prussian got on his tip toes and gave Canada a kiss.

"Je t'aime aussi." Canada called over his shoulder as he went out to the garage. He put his helmet on before heading out. The ride wasn't too long; the funeral parlour was just in town.

Zyler and Amity Wolf were two ghouls that moved to Canada almost ten years ago. They had bumped into Matthew the day they had moved. They had fled from the violence in Romania and didn't have much to their name. Zyler was very charismatic; he was good at making people smile. Amity had a very calming vibe; her voice was quiet and soothing. Together they made a great team to help people through some of the worst times of their lives. The pair also was part of his small team. Amity was very good with computers and handled the money from his contracts. Zyler helped new ghoul family's settle in and taught them the system Canada used to feed them.

The Canadian down shifted as he pulled into the driveway of the funeral home. There weren't any services today and it was pretty quiet. He parked and went inside.

"Hello?" He called looking around.

"Hey Matt! How are you?" Zyler greeted poking his head out from one of the rooms.

"Not too bad, and you?" Matthew asked as Zyler motioned to follow him. He had dark red short cut hair and bright green eyes. He had a soul patch and a few tattoos that were partially hidden by his jacket sleeves. One was of a wolf, referencing his sir name as well as his ghoul name, Lupus.

A few years after World War II, a system was set in place to feed the many ghouls coming to Canada. Many ghouls took undertaker jobs. They would prep the human body for the funeral, then after the service they'd harvest the meat and give it to other ghouls. It was all technically legal; it was in the funeral contract. This was all happening under the government's nose.

"Pretty good. Yesterday was busy, so happy for a bit of a lull." Zyler admitted with a sigh. He sat down in one of the parlours arm chairs and motioned for Matthew to sit as well. "What brings you here today? Do you need some meat?"

"No, I'm okay. I'm going be out of town for the next couple of days." The Canadian said.

Zyler nodded. "Alright. There aren't any problem ghouls around right now so it shouldn't be a problem."

"How is the fund?" Matthew asked. Amity kept tabs on the money he made from his hits and divided it up among other funeral homes to feed ghouls across Canada.

"Doing well, we've all got enough to run smoothly for the next few months." Lupus said. "Amity can tell you more. She should be back from the store any minute."

"Oh good. There will be another deposit going in soon." Matthew said with a smile.

"The government still hasn't mentioned anything?" Zyler asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, they haven't caught on for years, why would they now? They still believe that Canada is almost ghoul free, well besides Red-Winged Blackbird of course." The nation said. "Our Counter Ghoul Agency doesn't have much to do."

"No kidding, we hide very well." Zyler laughed.

"I'm back!" Amity called from the other room. She had heard them chatting and walked into the room. "Hello Matthew, here for an update?"

"Yes and a visit." Matthew said. Amity was a beautiful woman. She had long dark strawberry blonde hair pulled back into a half up, half down style. She had big blue grey eyes and was fairly soft spoken. She went over and sat on the arm of Zyler's chair.

"We're fairly good on funds. We gave just under ten thousand to each home this year. With just over twelve hundred homes that about twelve and a half million." Amity explained. She took a breath and continued. "Of course new homes are opening and old ones are closing all the time. Start-up costs are quite a bit, but the government has grants in some cases. And we also take part of their profits which helps us supplement any losses a parlour might have."

"Good. The rest still goes to new ghouls to help them settle in?" Matthew asked and Amity nodded. They talked about a few different things for a while until Zyler got a call. Canada quickly said goodbye and told them he'd let them know when he'd be back.

-❄"If you stand for nothing Burr what would you fall for?"❄-

"Ready Birdie?" Prussia asked grabbing the backpack off the counter. He walked over and gave Canada a kiss on his cheek as he entered from the garage. Matthew blushed with a small smile and nodded. They both stepped back into the garage. He picked up Gilbert's helmet and tossed it lightly to him. He easily caught it with a smirk.

"Let's head out." Matthew said climbing back onto his bike. The Prussian climbed on behind him and wrapped his arms around Canada's waist. Matthew started the bike and they rode off.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

**AN: Started to play Attack on Titan Tribute Game again. Say hi if you see me, I'm TallPoppy. I'm almost always in forest III**

"My ass hurts." Prussia complained stepping off the bike. They had finally made it to the hotel and parked in their parking structure after a couple of hours of riding. The albino took the backpack off and handed it over to Matthew.

"Oh poor Pooh Bear." Canada teased taking the backpack from Gilbert. He slung it over one shoulder. "Want me to kiss it better?"

"No." The Prussian pouted slightly, but quickly perked up. "Let's go check in! Ve've got an hour before France and Spain should show."

"And I should attempt to have a nap before I've gotta go." Matthew said as they walked towards the elevator.

"Jou're my DD right?" Gilbert asked as they stepped onto the elevator.

"No I'm your DW." The Canadian said and Prussia raised an eyebrow. "Designated walker. There is no way I'm letting you on the bike if you're drunk, we've been over this."

"Fair enough, jou know I have a bad memory." The albino said biting his lip and smiling looking up at Matthew. "I don't plan on drinking too much."

"Mmmhumm." Canada mumbled not really believing what Gilbert said. "Maybe I should pick up some Tylenol while I'm out?"

"Might be a good idea, just in case... as a precaution." Prussia smirked. They walked up to the desk and checked in before finding the room. They both set their helmets on the dresser and Canada put their backpack on the chair before flopping down on the bed. Prussia poked around and inspected a few different things before lying down on the bed next to Matthew.

"Oh! I forgot to tell jou, Buzzfeed made an episode of unsolved on jou." Prussia said looking up at Canada. Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Remember the video I showed jou of sassy ghost Al Capone?" The blond nodded. "It's from the same guys."

"They think I'm a ghost?" Canada asked surprised. Gilbert laughed throwing an arm over his face almost smacking Canada by accident.

"Nein!" He said through his laughs. The albino took his phone from his pocket and pulled up the video. He handed Matthew the phone and pulled himself up closer to the blond. They both watched it and laughed when Ryan blamed it on aliens.

"They don't think I'm a ghost, they think I'm an alien?" Blackbird laughed handing the Prussian his phone. "Okay then."

"Nothing they presented was even close to the truth." Gilbert said scrolling through the comments. "It's amazing that jou've managed to stay hidden this long."

"Well, being practically invisible to everyone has its advantages." Canada sighed with a smile.

"Don't know how jou're invisible when jou're so amazing." The albino said stretching up to give Matthew a kiss. The blond kept their lips connected as he rolled onto his hands and knees over Gilbert, pinning him to the bed. The Prussian reached up and intertwined his hands in Canada's hair.

"Je t'aime tellement." Matthew said as soon as they broke apart for breath. Prussia smiled bringing him back down for another kiss, but both were suddenly startled by a knock at their door. The couple paused both starring at the door.

"Gilbert! Matthew! We're here!" It was Francis.

"Come on, amigos!" Antonio called. Canada groaned and Prussia frowned.

"Ve'll continue this later." The albino said as Matthew pulled away letting him up.

-❄"Take these broken wings and learn to fly."❄-

Matthew managed to have a short nap before it got dark out. He woke up an hour later and got dressed, nothing special, hoodie, jeans and his denim coat. He also grabbed his mask from their backpack and shoved it in his pocket. He took his helmet off the dresser and left their room.

There were a few other ghouls around, he could smell them. His nose over the years had become very sensitive. He was easily able to pick up and track a person, human or ghoul from just a small scent trail. Most other ghouls were able to smell who was human and who wasn't, but were unable to distinguish two different human scents from each other.

Matthew climbed onto his bike and started it. The ride wasn't too long before he found a spot to park in the town over. He climbed off and walk towards the bar he knew his target would be in. He ducked into the alleyway across from the bar and climbed up the fire escape. He perched on the edge of the building and put his mask on. Now all he needed to do was wait for Soden and his crew to leave.

Blackbird only had to wait for about an hour until three fairly drunk men stumbled out of the bar. He watched as they crossed the street and walked into the alley next to the building he was perched on. Matthew followed them along the rooftop. He hopped over to the next building still tracking them waiting for Denis to split off, but it didn't look like he was going to.

Canada made a quick decision and unleashed his kagune. He vaulted over the edge of the building and dropped down into the alley behind the trio. All three turned around in sync to see Blackbird landing in a crouch, wing like crystallized kagune shining in the dim moon light.

One of the men and Soden pulled their hand guns while the third just passed out from fear. The Canadian started to rush towards the pair. They shot at him, but their bullets didn't do any damage. Matthew hopped up into the air and shot shards at Denis. The man screamed as the shards cut into him. He collapsed, still alive, but barely.

Canada stood and turned back to see what the other man was going to do. He was just terrified, frozen with fear. The blond took a small step towards him and suddenly the man jumped, dropped his gun and ran. Matthew walked over and crouched down next to Soden. He wasn't breathing anymore and his eyes were glazed over.

It had been a few months since the last time he ate. Blackbird didn't want to leave it any longer and started to eat. Once he was done, Canada wiped his face and dropped his card before starting around the block to circle around to his bike.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Once Canada got back, he dropped his helmet and mask off in the hotel room. He also cleaned up the bit of blood he had noticed on his face before heading off to pick up Prussia. He was going to meet Romano and England in the lobby. They were all staying in the same hotel.

"Ciao Matt." Romano greeted almost warmly. They talked until England walked up right on time and the trio started off to the bar that was only about a block away. They made a bit of small talk as they walked.

As soon as they entered the bar they spotted Prussia, France and Spain sitting in a booth in the back laughing loudly. Romano went off to pay their tab as Canada and England went up to the trio.

"Come on," England said taking France's arm and pulling lightly. "You can drink more tomorrow night."

"Bonjour mon amour." Francis said slurring slightly. He stood up and put an arm around Arthur's shoulders. "Have I ever told you how thick your eyebrows are? There's got to be at least three c's."

Antonio snorted while Gilbert face palmed. "Very smooth amigo." Spain snickered.

"Hallo, Birdie." Prussia hummed climbing over Spain to get to him. "Do ve get to finished vhat ve started earlier?" He whispered in Matthew's ear making him blush slightly. "So cute."

"Where is my Lovi?" Spain asked sadly looking around.

"Right here you bastard." Romano said bill in hand. Spain smiled hopping up and pulling Romano into a bear hug. "Let go of me asshole." Lovino said pushing Spain away.

"Let's go." England said starting to walk out with France's arm around his shoulder. Spain was almost using Romano like a cane to get out. They were pretty slow moving and they just barely made it out the door. Gilbert slowly stumbled towards the door, but Matthew wasn't having any of that. He just picked up the drunk Prussian and threw him over his shoulder.

"Stupid tall maple bastard." Romano said seeing Matthew catch up to them with Prussia over his shoulder.

-❄"A shining new era is tiptoeing nearer."❄-

That night was America's party and Canada had a bad feeling he couldn't shake. He was on high alert and couldn't really relax. Matthew sighed and ran a hand through his hair looking out the window at the city.

"Ready to go Birdie?" Gilbert asked stepping out of the bathroom. Matthew nodded standing up from where he was sitting on the bed. They both grabbed their helmets off the dresser as they left. Neither of them planned on drinking tonight.

"Oh, I can't wait to go home." Matthew groaned as they stepped onto the elevator.

"Jou okay?" Gilbert asked leaning on the taller nation slightly and putting a hand on his arm. "Jou seen tense."

"I've got a bad feeling." Canada sighed relaxing into Prussia's touch. "I don't know what it is."

"Like something bad vill happen?" The albino asked and Matthew nodded. "America won't do anything. If he comes anywhere close I'll kick his ass."

"Thanks Gilly." Canada said with a small smile. It made him feel a little bit better, but the feeling was still there. He still hated the fact that he was a deadly assassin and ghoul, but turned skittish at the thought of being in the same room as his 'brother.'

-❄"I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance!"❄-

The couple ended up having to park a few blocks away and walked up. Half way there they met Scotland and Wales who were complaining about how the party was mandatory and how crappy American liquor was. Canada and Prussia were quick to agree. The group walked up to the house and was let through by some secret service members.

As soon as they entered the main ballroom Blackbird could smell ghouls. His eyes darted around the room pinpointing the scent to a group of waiters. He immediately readied for a fight, but then remembered where he was. In Alfred's mansion, surrounded by other nations, none of which knew that he was a ghoul. He decided to keep a close eye on them; it could have just been a coincidence. Maybe they were just there to work.

"Il y a des goules ici." Matthew quickly whispered to Prussia as they entered the ball room. The albino raised an eyebrow and Canada just shrugged shaking his head.

The blond stayed close to Gilbert for the first little bit, but spotted Russia leaning against the wall and wondered over. He was constantly keeping America and the other ghouls in check.

"I hate this." Russia grumbled sipping on his drink. "A mandatory party is not a party at all." Canada smiled slightly. "This shitty beer makes it a small bit better."

"Did you watch the game last night?" Matthew asked. He had managed to catch the tail end after he carried Prussia home. The albino had passed out cold along the way.

"Da, was good. Your players are doing well this year." Ivan said taking another sip. The pair kept talking about hockey for a while until a waiter wondered over and offered them some food. Both politely declined and the ghoul waiter went away. Canada noticed something around the waiter ghoul's neck. He tried to get a better look, it resembled a shock collar to him.

They continued to talk for a while until Belarus interrupted them. Matthew scented Prussia on the other side of the room and walked quickly over, but was stopped by Seychelles.

"Hello Matthew!" She greeted warmly pulling him in for a hug. "It's been a while how are you?"

"I'm good Michelle, how are you?" Matthew smiled. It had been quite a while since he had time to talk with the woman. They started to catch up, but waiters kept interrupting them. Seychelles would take one occasionally, but Canada would always turn the pushy waiters down. He could eat something, but he'd have to throw it up later. He was starting to get annoyed by the constant pestering.

"Oh, but sir, these are amazing." One of the waiters was being extremely pushy. Canada politely said no, but this ghoul just wouldn't give up, insisting more. Matthew was at the end of his very long rope with this waiter. He flashed his ghoul eyes at the waiter, making sure no one else could see them, to scare him off. The waiter's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly said, "Your loss." And shuffled off to bug someone else.

"He was annoying." Michelle commented as soon as the waiter finally left. Blackbird nodded in agreement. They continued where they left off. After a while Matthew said goodbye and went to look for Prussia again. He spotted him on the other side of the big ball room talking with his brother. He started around the edge of the room to avoid the crowd of nations. The blond let his mind wander as he walked and ran right into someone. He was getting ready to apologize, but then realized who it was and froze.

**AN: Bit of a longer chapter. 'bout half way through my plan for this fic, but I'm going to add some flash backs later to show how Canada has been hiding being a ghoul.**


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

"Hello Matthew." America said in his usual, over loud, very obnoxious voice. Matthew didn't say anything, he just glared. "Cold, okay." Alfred hummed. "Have you tried any food yet?" The American paused waiting for an answer, but he wasn't going to get one. Matthew was still glaring, but on the inside he was scared. "Oh come on Mattie. You're still not over that? It's been over two hundred years."

"Really?" Canada managed to get out. He was beyond angry and was fighting the urge to beat Alfred to the ground right there. "Of course I'm not fucking 'over that.'" He snapped pushing past America, but he caught his wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?" The American demanded with a death grip on him. He yanked Canada back. Matthew froze looking nervously up at the blond. He felt so helpless in that moment. "That's no way to treat your host."

"Let him go." Gilbert barked suddenly at his side. Alfred looked annoyed at the albino's appearance and let Canada's wrist go. Matthew ducked his head and Prussia put an arm around his waist in reassurance. The albino shot a dirty look at Alfred as he led Matthew away. "I'm tired, ready to go?"

"Yeah." Matthew said quietly as they walked towards the door. He was starting to calm down now and his mind was clearing. He was happy that none of the other nations seemed to notice the exchange.

"Jou okay?" Prussia asked as they walked quickly down the street.

The Canadian nodded. "I'm fine." But he knew he really wasn't. He could still smell ghouls around. They must have been following them. Blackbird looked over his shoulder and spotted someone duck behind a bush. "Shit." Matthew cursed quietly.

"Vhat is it?" Prussia asked raising an eyebrow, but his face was still full of concern. Blackbird didn't say anything; he just looked over his shoulder again. He could smell another couple ghouls, but couldn't pinpoint their locations. "Ghouls?" The albino asked quietly and Canada nodded.

"They're staying back." Canada said judging their distance by scent. He still couldn't relax when there was a possibility of an attack. All his focus was on protecting Prussia and getting out of there. He kept checking over his shoulder to keep tabs on the ghouls following them. He caught some motion out of the corner of his eye.

Matthew saw a shadow running and ducking behind cars on the opposite side of the street. He knew it was another ghoul by scent. He let a small growl out keeping Gilbert close to him. He was ready to attack at any moment if one of the ghouls got too close for his comfort.

After what seemed like years, the pair finally made it back to the motorcycle. Canada handed Gilbert his helmet giving one final visual sweep of the area trying to get a good look at one of the ghouls, but couldn't. He put his helmet on and started the bike before the pair sped off.

-❄"Never trust anyone too much; remember the devil was once an angel."❄-

"Birdie?" Prussia asked as soon as they entered their hotel room and closed the door. "What did Alfred do?"

Matthew shook his head and sat on the bed. Gilbert sat down next to him. "He didn't really do anything. I just let my mind slip for a second and walked into him." He sighed. "I froze." Canada shook his head again. He rested his head on Gilbert's shoulder. "He's right though. I should be over that by now. It's been over two hundred years."

"It's fine that jou're not over it yet." Prussia said giving Canada a kiss on the cheek. He knew that the Canadian was most likely going to be fairly quiet tonight. "It vill take time." Matthew just tucked his head into the crook of the albino's neck. "Jou need to remember that jou're a strong and awesome man, but it's okay to have fears."

Canada didn't say anything, but nodded slightly. They sat like that on the edge of the bed for a while. Gilbert hummed quietly to fill the silence and played with Matthew's hair. The blond was taking comfort in Prussia's touch and him just being there.

-❄"You have no control: who lives, who dies, who tells your story."❄-

**AN: Flashback! And not 100% percent sure if the translations are correct. Couldn't find much on the Internet.**

As a child, before his land was discovered, Canada lived with his native people. He lived with many tribes over the years never sticking with one for too long. Back then, ghouls and humans lived together in harmony at least in north America. The ghouls would go out and do the hunting for the humans in exchange for companionship and food.

Matthew at the time wasn't called Matthew or Canada. He didn't get those names until much later. Most people called him Tsó:kwaris meaning red-winged blackbird or Cahcahka meaning blackbird depending on who he was staying with.

His mother Native America, just before she had disappeared, had warned him that new people would be coming to his land soon. He was very excited to meet them and his brother that he'd heard so much about, but she warned him that these people were different. She said that the men were ruthless and to be very wary of them. Native America warned him that these people didn't treat ghouls the same as humans and to never, under any circumstances tell someone that he was a ghoul. She had tried to teach him how to eat without gagging, but Cahcahka, being only about four in human years, didn't quite understand the importance of it.

Many years later he did, after he had met France he understood the importance of appearing human. The elder nation talked about ghouls as less than human. He did the same about the native people as well. Canada didn't like what the blond was saying about them. Matthew learned quickly how to hide his ghoul habits around France.

There had been a few close calls. He had snuck away to go throw up the food he'd eaten that night with Francis, but the elder nation found him. Canada had managed to convince France that he was sick and had to act so for the next couple of days. Over the next few decades he mastered hiding.

Canada was surprised the first time he had met his brother. The blond had always assumed that America would have been a ghoul as well, but he wasn't. He met more and more nations and none of them were either. He was the only nation that was also a ghoul.

Both of the younger nations became friends quite quickly. They talked a lot about the problems they were going through as new nations under Britain. America was being governed hard by England, but Canada on the other hand, would just roam around. England would constantly pester America, but left Canada alone for the most part. It didn't take long for Alfred to get fed up and start fighting back.

Matthew didn't see much of Alfred for the next couple of years. He would get a letter here and there, but the nation was busy with the revolution.


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

**AN: Still flash back.**

Matthew, now appearing to be sixteen or seventeen in human years, was put into the military by Arthur. He didn't really mind. He thought learning how to use a gun might be a good idea. So far he'd only learned a bit of hand to hand from his native people.

Canada easily learned how to use the rifle and his marksman skills were unmatched. England had been surprised and impressed at the younger nation's deadly aim. He was also impressed by Matthew's strategizing skills. Despite appearing quiet and reserved he often thought way out of the box to get the upper hand on his enemies.

In his time off he'd still wander around, not really having a house or a place to stay. There had been a few times he had ended up on some land that a European ghoul had claimed as their territory. Canada was surprised by their hostility and had been injured badly the first few encounters. Up until then he had never used his kagune to fight another ghoul. It had taken him years to perfect his style and use his kagune affectively. It took him even longer to build up his stamina.

Soon after, rumours spread about an ukaku ghoul protecting Canada.

-❄"I've always wanted to be a skinny Ron Jeremy"❄-

Canada was surprised to hear the news that Britain had surrendered and left America. He was even more surprised that years later he was going to war against his brother. He was called to action by England to command his troops again. He was angry that the American's kept attacking and invading him.

"Matthew, this message needs to get to York." England said handing him a letter. Canada raised an eyebrow. "A message to FitzGibson. Give it to one of your men or take it to him yourself if you wish."

Blackbird nodded and headed to the stables. He was going to take it himself. He hadn't eaten in a long time and thought it would be a good opportunity to pick up a quick snack. He rode out on his horse with his rifle on his back. He followed the trail out of town for a while before going off into the forest. It would be quicker to cut through.

As he got closer to York he started to feel a pain in his chest. He groaned and winced feeling the slight burn. It wasn't anything he couldn't manage, but it was still bugging him. The pain got worse as he got closer to York. It had slowly started to migrate upwards into his throat and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

Canada decided to get off his horse. He managed to climb off without falling and get over to a tree. He leaned against it and slid down putting his head between his knees. He coughed trying to catch his breath, but couldn't. His body felt hot, like he was burning. The Canadian whined and curled up in a ball on the forest floor hoping the pain would go away. It felt like hours, the pain didn't lessen at all; it kept getting worse and worse. He was fighting to stay conscious, he'd never felt pain like this before. He thought he could smell smoke.

Matthew opened his eyes hearing footsteps shuffling towards him. He could see boots come into his line of sight. He hoped that this person could help him. The Canadian followed the boots up to see an American uniform. A bolt of fear shot through the young nation before he saw the face. He was relieved to see Alfred's face.

"Oh, Mattie." America said kneeling down next to him. He dropped his musket on the ground next to them. He pushed some hair out of Canada's face cupping his cheek with a smile. Matthew winced and closed his eyes. The little bit of heat coming off of Alfred's hand felt like it was burning him. "I'm sorry. I had to do that to make you weak."

"What?" Blackbird said through a fit of painful coughs. The American didn't say anything; instead he stood up and walked out of his sight.

"York's burning." Alfred said from somewhere behind him. Canada tried to move his head and follow America's voice, but every slight movement send waves of pain and dizziness through him. He came back into Matthew's line of sight and hooked his foot under his shoulder and pushed him onto his back. The Canadian groaned and put an arm over his eyes. He didn't understand why his brother was doing this; couldn't he see it was hurting him? Alfred crouched down next to him with a wicked smile. Blackbird had never been afraid of his brother before, but he was now. The American's hands trailed along his sides slipping lower and lower. He was losing his battle with consciousness and his eyes were slowly closing. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this."

-❄"You wired me awake and hit me with a hand of broken nails."❄-

Hours later, Canada woke up in the middle of the night. He gasped feeling something sniffing his hair and bolted upright, scuttling backwards until his back was pressed against a tree. He looked up to see it was just his horse and sighed pulling his legs up to his chest and resting his chin on his knees. Blackbird scanned the forest trying to remember what happened.

All Matthew could remember was pain and burning. He remembered Alfred saying that York was burning then more terrible memories came flooding back. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, but he refused to cry. Canada climbed to his feet and leaned against the tree to balance himself. He was weak and hungry, but the pain had dulled to a small ache.

The Canadian managed to climb onto his horse and got back on his route to York. He was surprised about how much damage had been done to his capital. Houses and buildings had been burned and were still burning. The smell of smoke still lingered. He put himself together enough to deliver the letter before finding someone to eat. The meat had restored some strength, but he still felt sluggish. Matthew found his horse again and rode back to the Fort. He went around the long way through the forest going slow to collect his thoughts.

As soon as he got back, a soldier approached him and told him Arthur was requesting to see him. Canada nodded not saying anything before going to change then meet England.

"Matthew, are you alright?" England asked as soon as he entered the room.

"I'm fine." Blackbird said quietly shaking his head.

"Alright." Arthur said. He could tell that something had changed the Canadian, but didn't push it. He knew how bad the pain Matthew must have went through with his capital burning. He started into new attack plans to help keep Canada's mind focused on fighting America.


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

**AN: Last chapter of flashback, probably.**

Matthew got revenge for York by burning the White House. It wasn't really enough for him, he wanted Alfred to feel the long lasting effects of what else he'd done.

Years flew by and Canada kept fairly isolated. He still hadn't settled in one spot. After the war of 1812, Matthew mostly kept to the forests of upper Canada. Anyone that was looking for him had a hard time finding him. He would occasionally wander into a town to catch a meal. While there, he would catch up on news and other happenings.

Matthew found out that a lot of ghouls had started to move to Canada. He didn't mind as long as they kept a low profile and only kill when needed. Rumours still lingered around about the ukaku ghoul protecting Canada. For the most part, these immigrant ghouls were peaceful, but there were the problem few.

Blackbird hunted down and warned these ghouls, but most of the time the warnings weren't heeded. In those cases, Matthew would stop them permanently. He started to make friends with some of the ghouls.

Almost a hundred years past and it was the beginning of World War One. As soon as England entered Canada was as well. Arthur had to track Matthew down to tell him the news. He wasn't exactly happy, but went with England anyways. The elder nation wanted him to take up a command, but Canada refused. Instead he joined the ranks of the marksmen, particularly as a sniper.

Matthew enjoyed sitting up in a tree alone on the edge of no man's land picking his enemies off. He was up in his favourite nest one day when he noticed something was off with his vision. Minutes later he couldn't breathe and was coughing. It lasted for hours and he felt like he was drowning in his own lungs. He didn't learn until later about the gas at Ypres and how many of his men died. Blackbird's own eyesight was permanently affected; he now needed glasses to read. He was lucky it didn't affect him more.

A little less than two years later, Canada was called off the field by Arthur for a meeting of the allied nations.

"Your troops are doing very well." England complimented on the way to the war room. "Their conviction is amazing, they don't back down."

Matthew nodded just listening. He was mostly thinking about getting some coffee, he was getting pretty hungry. It had been almost three months since his last meal. As they entered the war room, Canada froze. His eyes widened as he spotted Alfred sitting at the head of the table with France. His breath quickened as he forced himself into the room.

America didn't even look at him as he entered the room. He completely ignored Matthew for the whole meeting, not once acknowledging his presence. Canada kept quiet, not saying anything the whole meeting. After it was done, he left immediately to go back to the front lines. He stayed on the front lines for the rest of the war skipping almost every meeting.

-❄"I have always liked quiet people. You never know if they're dancing in a daydream or if they're carrying the weight of the world."❄-

After the war, Canada went back home and settled into his routine again, but this time he actually bought a house and settled down a bit. He was still traveling clearing out all the troublesome ghouls that he missed during the war.

The roaring twenties were filled with aggressive ghouls coming to Canada. He didn't have much time to himself between fighting these ghouls. The thirties were even worse; Matthew was weak and sick from the economy crashing. He didn't have the strength to fight. The forties weren't much better either. He wasn't sick anymore, but World War Two had started.

Blackbird went through the Second World War much like he did in the first. On the front lines, in a tree, alone, picking his enemies off. He went to more of the meetings this time around, even when America had entered the war. The American still completely ignored him and Matthew was happy enough not being acknowledged by his 'brother.'

-❄"You think this is the first makeup haul out of Home Depot?"❄ -

After the second war, Canada was so happy to be home. He had to again clear out problem ghouls, but this time there was less of them. This was around the time he stopped giving warnings. The Red-Winged Blackbird was such a prominent figure in Canada. These ghouls knew what would happen if they hunted in Canada.

A few years after World War Two he heard some of his undertakers complaining about not getting enough funding from the government to run certain parts of their business. This is the time were Canada set up the system still used today. Blackbird decided to not let his marksman skills go to waste and would take the occasional assassination contract. Soon, people were seeking him out specifically to do the hits. Every cent he made off the contracts went to his undertakers to make sure there was a steady stream of food for other ghouls. Canada gathered a small group of ghouls to help him manage the money and everything else. It was too much for him to manage all on his own.

As the seventies approached, a few nations were talking about having monthly meetings in different countries to discuss world problems. It soon became a reality, the first one being in Washington, D.C. It was the first time Matthew had been to America since burning down the White House.

The meeting wasn't that bad. America was still ignoring him, but Canada still kept quiet for the most part. He felt like he was finally starting to work past his fear of his 'brother.'

Blackbird was a little concerned about these meetings being every month. Seeing the other nations more often gave him more opportunities to slip up and reveal he was a ghoul, but after almost three hundred years of hiding it was easy for him to blend in.

**AN: Fun fact, the most effective sniper in WWI was a Canadian man named Francis Pegahmagabow. He lived in Parry Sound, Ontario which is where my most of my family is from! Also, l** **il bit of a problem, well not actually a problem, but anyways I have completely finished writing another fic on top of the three I'm already currently posting. I'm not really sure when to start posting it.**


	11. Chapter Eleven

 

Chapter Eleven

**AN: I lied, last 'lil bit of flashback**

Matthew had never been one to think of love. For a nation that had been raised by the country of love, he had often forgotten love even existed. That was until Prussia walked into his life.

Canada had been just leaving the meeting to go back to his hotel room when he heard someone call his name. He paused to see who it was and saw the Prussian waving at him as he walked over.

"Hallo, Canada." He greeted. Blackbird just raised an eyebrow. "Vant to go get some coffee? West is busy vith Italy."

"Okay." Canada agreed. He didn't have much to do in China that day and was getting a bit hungry; coffee would help that. Prussia had got him to talk quite a bit and was surprised at how sharp a tongue he had.

"Oh, it's Gilbert by the vay." The albino said pausing as they got to the end of the street. They were about to split off to go to their separate hotels.

"Matthew." Canada said with a small smile. Gilbert nodded and waved as they parted ways. This begun a pattern with the pair; Prussia would hunt him down at the meetings and ask him if he wanted to go for coffee or lunch. Matthew would accept either way, he liked the albino's company. Prussia would shamelessly flirt with the Canadian, but Canada didn't catch on right away.

Once he did, Matthew was a little nervous. He didn't want Gilbert to get to close and find out about him being the Red-Winged Blackbird. The Prussian didn't seem to notice Canada's hesitation and asked him out to a movie. Matthew agreed to go and after Gilbert asked if he wanted to go steady. The nation couldn't quite bring himself to say no, he really wanted something with Prussia, even against his better judgement.

A couple of months went by and Prussia started to visit Canada often. It was hard for Canada to get to Gilbert with work, so he went to Matthew. They became very close, almost attached at the hip. Matthew waited almost twenty years to tell Prussia about being a ghoul and being the Blackbird.

Gilbert had taken it well, all things considered. He was angry and scared, but didn't run away. Canada answered any questions he had and explained everything. Prussia had calmed down after hours of talking and Matthew apologized for keeping it from him. The albino said he understood why Canada had kept it from him and was glad that he trusted him enough to tell him now.

Things were a bit awkward for the first few weeks as Prussia got used to living with a person he knew as a ghoul. He adjusted quickly and everything went back to 'normal.'

-❄"This bitch empty."❄-

**AN: back to the future!**

The next morning Canada woke up to the sound of the TV. He opened his eyes and peaked out from under the blankets. Gilbert was sitting cross-legged at the end on the bed folding clothes and packing them back into their backpack. He must have just got out of the shower judging by the flat hair.

Matthew groaned and sat up running a hand through his hair. "Morning." He said through a yawn. "It's still morning, eh?"

"Ja, it's eleven am." Prussia said turning around with a smile. Matthew got out from under the blankets and crawled over to the albino. Gilbert gave him a kiss as Canada settled down next to him and helped fold the last few things. "Check out is twelve. Ve better get going."

"Yeah." Matthew agreed standing to get dressed. Prussia did a sweep of the room to see if he forgot anything before they left. "Oh, I need to call Blair and Ash when we get back."

"About the vaiters?" Prussia asked as the stepped out of the elevator into the parking garage.

"They had collars on. I haven't seen that before." Canada explained. "Ash or Blair will be able to dig up something on them."

"What do jou think it could do?" The Prussian asked as they got closer to the bike.

"I'm not sure. The ghouls didn't seem to be controlled by them, but the collar could have RC suppressants in them. They could be used as a threat to get a ghoul to do what someone wants." Matthew said thinking out loud. "Have to see what the team can find."

Gilbert nodded as Canada got on and started the motorcycle. Prussia climbed on behind him and wrapped his arms around the blond's waist as they rode off. The ride seemed longer on the way back even though traffic was lighter and they took the same route. Matthew couldn't wait to get back home.

It had started to snow as they pulled back into their driveway. Prussia hopped off as Canada turned off the bike rubbing his hands together. They brought their helmets into the house and the albino immediately went to turn up the heat as Matthew went to unpack. He had a quick shower before going back down stairs.

Prussia was huddled under a blanket watching the news. It was a report on Canada's contract from two days ago. He sat down next to the Prussian and he let him into his blanket cocoon.

"Hmmm. Jou're warm." Gilbert hummed snuggling closer. "Have you talked to Blair and Ash yet?"

"Not yet." Matthew said reaching out of the blanket to grab his phone. He texted them both asking for them to see if they could find information on a ghoul collar. "Thanks for reminding me."

Gilbert just hummed nodding with a smirk. He looked like he was up to something.

Blair Volkov was a koukaku ghoul born and raised in Canada. One day he had just walked up to Matthew on the street asking him why he smelled different from other ghouls. The man had an amazing nose and a knack for tracking. Ash Milson was a bikaku ghoul born in the US and moved to Canada with their parents. Despite being young, they are one of the best hackers in the world. Both worked close together to find information on anything.

Matthew hadn't noticed the albino snake his hands slowly around his waist until he was suddenly pinned to the couch underneath him.

"Ve never finished vhat ve started, Liebling." Prussia purred kissing Canada's jawbone. He trailed kisses down the blond's neck to his collarbone intending to leave marks.

"We should probably do that. It's not good to leave things unfinished." Matthew gasped intertwining his hands in Gilbert's hair.

 


	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

**AN: Had to rewrite this chapter. It might seem out of place. I keep my notes synced to my email and it got deleted, but all the other chapters were fine. -_-**

Matthew sighed walking into the kitchen where Gilbert was sitting reading the paper. He looked up as soon as the blond entered. Prussia immediately noticed he looked nervous.

"Blair called." Canada said leaning against the door frame lightly scratching his arm. "He said Ash wanted to see all of us."

The albino got up and went over to Matthew. "Did they find something?"

"Wouldn't say, he just said that Ash needs to see us." Canada sighed. Prussia could tell he was stressed and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm coming vith jou, Liebe." Gilbert said and Matthew nodded. "Vhat time are ve supposed to be there?"

"In two hours." Canada explained. "We should leave soon though, it's going to snow."

The pair sat and watched TV for a little bit before leaving the house. The drive took longer than usual since it was snowing pretty heavily. The nations finally got to the warehouse.

The warehouse was an old abandoned storehouse that the government owned. They had never used it or had any plans to use it either. Canada's ghoul team used it as a base of operations for managing the finances as well as surveillance of problem ghouls across the country.

As they were walking up Prussia kept his hands in his pockets. He slipped with a yelp, but Matthew caught him before he fell and put him back on his feet. Canada laughed at the albino's scared expression as he set him back down. Prussia smiled and grabbed the door for him as thanks. The pair walked towards the back of the warehouse where Ash kept their computers. Ash and Blair were already there, but the other four ghouls weren't.

"Hey Matt, Gilbert." Blair greeted seeing them come in. Ash waved at them before turning back to their screen. "The others will be here soon."

They stood around chatting for a while before Amity and Zyler showed up followed by Shayne them Zola.

Shayne was a blond haired, green eyed, rinkaku ghoul. He mostly kept tabs on problem ghouls that Blair was able to stick a tracker to. Zola was a tan skin, dark haired, grey violet eyes, rinkaku ghoul that ran a funeral parlour a couple of towns over. She also was an amazing seamstress and mask maker.

"So what's the news Ash?" Zyler asked clearing his throat.

"Well, I found some info on that collar." Ash said pulling up some blueprints on their computer. "It looks to be a high voltage shock collar. It can output over 250mA AC, easily enough to kill a human or a ghoul. It can be remotely controlled too."

"Couldn't you just take it off?" Zola asked raising an eyebrow.

"Not a good idea." Ash pointed at a part of the blueprint. "If the neck band is cut or unbuckled it will shock the person. It's a simple magnet clip. If you got the drop on someone you could easily clip it on. Who ever has that remote can kill them in an instant."

"They were all ghouls at the party." Matthew said shaking his head. "The American CCG must have been involved somehow. Maybe ghouls from prison that took a deal?"

"I didn't find any info on where they came from, but I found this." Ash pulled up some more documents. Matthew skimmed over them eyes widening in surprise. "It looks like America has plans to attack Canada."

"Vell shit." Prussia cursed crossing his arms seeing the plans.

"When?" Amity asked.

"There are no dates. These could have been made years ago." Blair shrugged.

"That's the falls right?" Zyler asked looking over the map and Canada nodded. "Why there? They'd be bottlenecked easily."

"Especially when they could just walk right into Saskatchewan." Shayne pointed out.

"Can you send the plans to boarder security and a few people in the government as well as the military?" Canada asked looking them over again.

"Of course. Give me a list of names." Ash said opening notepad. "I'd recommend picking people that won't leak this stuff."

"Definitely don't want this getting out." Blackbird agreed starting to think if some names. "It's unlikely they'd make a move, but I do not want a mass panic."

"It would be stupid for them to attack." Amity said shaking her head. "It would do some irreparable damaged between the governments"

"And if America vere to attack Canada, what's stopping them from attacking another nation?" Prussia said running a hand through his hair.

"There would be a lot of problems." Shayne said shaking his head.

"Have to deal with them if they happen." Matthew shrugged with a sigh.

"That list?" Ash asked raising an eyebrow. Matthew started to list off names as Ash typed them down. "I'll send this stuff as soon as possible." They said.

"Thank you." Canada said a small slightly stressed smile on his face.

"Oh, no problem." Ash said with a smile. "I'll keep tabs on American forces movement too, just in case."

"Better to be safe than sorry." Prussia sighed. They continued to talk for a while before everyone said their goodbyes and promised to keep in touch.

-❄"Beynn."❄-

The next few weeks had been stressful and busy for Canada. There had been an unusually high amount of problem ghouls he needed to take care of and he felt like he hadn't been home in days. He was stressed and tired and wanted nothing more than to be home with Gilbert.

Matthew was sitting in parliament listening to members talk and give speeches. He yawned and rested his chin on his hand. He was scribbling notes, but he knew none of it would really make sense later. Blackbird blinked for a second and the talks were over. He must have fallen asleep.

Canada sighed and stood up stretching from his little nap before closing his books and leaving. He made his way to the truck and climbed in checking his phone. He had taken a contract that was for that night and was kind of regretting it, but he'd never go back on his word. Matthew started the truck and drove towards downtown Ottawa. It was still really cold out for late February and he didn't mind it at all. He was happy that it had stopped snowing though. He found a parking spot a few blocks over and began to walk.

**AN: Did drawings of the OC ghouls if you want a visual ref. Posted them on my tumblr ( tallpoppy-canada). Should be the first post or look under the 'mine' or 'blackout' tag on blog!**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

**AN: Yeah, Canada would be walking down the street with a rifle on his back, but shhh**

Blackbird was lying in wait peering through the scope of his rifle. He was lying on the roof on the building across from the hotel his target was staying in. He was waiting for his target to return to his hotel room. This man had been convicted of a bunch of crimes in the US, but had been let out after a few months in jail. People were angry and one was pissed enough to pay for him to be dead.

Matthew wasn't there too long when the hotel room door opened and his target stepped into his view. He immediately disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared a few minutes later. Canada followed him with his scope as he went into the main room and settled to watch TV. He let the man quietly watch TV for a while before aiming.

The Canadian took a breath to steady his hand before firing. The crack of his rifle echoed as the man slumped over. Matthew sighed as he stood up and dropped his card before sliding down the fire escape. He walked down the alley back into the street. He walked with his hands in his pockets and his head down until a commotion caught his attention.

A few feet ahead of him there was a bar where a man had just pushed a woman out the front doors. She went to get to her feet, but the man pulled her up. The woman tried to pull away and the man held on to her arm.

"Let go of me." She growled. Matthew could tell by scent that neither one had been drinking. He snapped something at her that Canada didn't quite catch. She stopped struggling and looked around trying to spot someone as he led her away from the bar. Matthew followed them for about a block until they reached a crosswalk and caught up to them.

The woman looked over noticing him for the first time. The man didn't even look. She gave him a panicked, pleading look as the light changed and the man began to walk again, dragging her along with him. Blackbird walked slower than the pair, trailing a few meters behind them, but kept close enough just in case the man was going to try something.

Matthew followed them for another couple of blocks before the man pulled her into an alleyway. He ran to catch up and rounded the corner of the alley to see him push her up against the wall. The man pulled a knife from his pocket and held it to her throat.

"Just let me go, please." The woman begged squirming trying to get away from him.

"Hey!" Canada called announcing his presence. The man gasped dropping the knife in surprise. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. The woman pushed him away and ran towards Matthew. "Go somewhere safe." He said to the woman. She nodded and hurried out of the alley.

"Come on bud." The man growled recomposing and picking his knife back up. "I wasn't going to do anything."

"Sure." Canada mumbled rolling his eyes. The man started to move towards him with the knife. He lunged at the blond and slashed at him. Matthew hopped out of the way not wanting to get any holes in his clothes. He grabbed the man's wrist and twisted making him drop the weapon. Blackbird pushed him head first into the wall. "You know, I wasn't going to do anything, but I'm kinda hungry." He smirked walking slowly towards the man on the ground.

"What?" The man groaned trying to get up. Canada put a foot on his back and pushed him back to the ground.

-❄"Spoon!"❄-

It was fairly late by the time he got home. He sighed taking his coat off and hanging it up. He sniffed around and spotted a light on in the study. He quietly entered to find Prussia asleep in a pile of papers. Matthew crouched down in front of the desk and gently brushed a few strands of hair out of his face.

Gilbert opened his eyes lazily and spotted Canada. "Hallo Birdie." He said through a yawn. "Vhat time is it?"

"It's almost midnight." Canada said going over to the albino's side. "Have you eaten yet?" Prussia shook his head. "Better make something. Don't want my heater leaving at two in the morning to have a snack."

Gilbert smiled and wrapped his arms around Matthew's neck and let himself be picked up. "How vas parliament?"

"Boring." Matthew sighed. "Important, but boring."

"Jou cooking or do jou vant me to?" Prussia asked as Canada sat him down on the counter.

"You're half asleep, I'll cook." The blond said walking over to the fridge. They didn't have much food around; they really needed to go shopping. "How about eggs and sausages?"

"Breakfast at midnight sounds good." Gilbert said with a smile. He was still a little sleepy. Matthew pulled the ingredients out of the fridge and set them on the counter.

"I mean, it is technically morning." Canada said grabbing a clean pan and bowl. He mixed the eggs with a bit of milk and butter while the sausages started to cook. "Did you get work done?"

"Ja, most of it." Prussia sighed running a hand through his hair getting rid of the flat spot. "There are somethings I have to go over vith west. Do jou vant some coffee?"

"No, I'm alright. Thanks Pooh Bear." Matthew smiled plating Gilbert's food and handing it to him. He put the pan into the sink and hopped up onto the counter next to the albino. "Do we have anything to do tomorrow?"

"I have a bit of paperwork to finish up, but other than that, nein." The Prussian said taking a bite of his eggs. "Vhat about jou?"

"Nope." Matthew said popping the p and leaning back against the wall with a sigh. "Just some paperwork too."

"Vell then, maybe I can make my Birdie sing tonight." The albino said wiggling his eyebrows and eating his sausage suggestively.

"Oh my god." Canada blushed and covered his face. Prussia just laughed at his reaction and continued to eat.

"Jou think I'm sexy." Gilbert said with a smirk wiggling his hips. He hopped off the counter and put his plate in the sink.

"I do, but that wasn't." Canada said as Prussia came back over and put a hand on either side of the counter Matthew was sitting on. The albino leaned into give Matthew a kiss, but changed his mind last second and started to kiss his neck. The blond smiled and wrapped his legs around Prussia's waist pulling him closer and intertwined his fingers in his hair. "That's a bit better, eh?"

"Ja." Gilbert hummed snaking his hands under Canada's shirt. "Maybe ve should take this upstairs?"

**AN: A new chapter will be posted every Saturday now! And check out my new fic called 'Dancin' in The Ruins!' Its a sequel to one of my other fics 'Don't Fear The Reaper.' Dis is the summary~**

**The Reaper has been growing closer to the Guardians over the last few years. They've become almost like a family, but something they learn about the Canadian scares them. Sequel to 'Don't Fear The Reaper.'**


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

A few weeks had passed rather normally. There were less problem ghouls and less paperwork. Both of the nations had a lot more down time and they were enjoying it. Matthew was especially enjoying sleeping in.

"Hey, Birdie? Jou awake?" Prussia asked resting his chin on Canada's shoulder. They were both still in bed. It felt really early in the morning, but Matthew knew it was probably around noon. He kept quiet hoping Gilbert would let him sleep a little longer. "I know jou're awake."

"I wanna have a nap." Canada grumbled and Prussia just laughed. "It's too early. Ghouls are nocturnal you know."

"It eleven, jou're not nocturnal." Gilbert said kissing his cheek. Matthew rolled over to face him with a small smile. "Ve should shower and make some food."

"Coffee does sound good right about now." Matthew said sitting up and stretching. He grabbed his phone to check alerts and was happy to see there wasn't any. "Shower first though. You coming?"

"Ja." Prussia yawned and sat up as well. Matthew snorted at his bed head. The albino tried to pat it down, but it kept springing back up. Canada leaned over and ran a hand through Gilbert's hair making it stand up more. "Meanie."

"You love me." Matthew said getting out of bed and walking over to pick Prussia up. He easily pulled him up and into his arms earning a loving kiss from the smaller nation.

-❄"It's like algebra... Why you gotta put letters and numbers together? Why can't you just go fuck yourself?"❄-

"When's the next meeting?" Matthew asked settling on the couch next to Gilbert. Kuma jumped up and curled up on the blond's lap. Seconds later, Gilbird was nesting in his hair.

"Don't know." Gilbert shrugged. "Haven't got an email yet. There might not be one this month because of the Olympics."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Canada sighed.

"It vould be." Prussia smiled giving Kuma a scratch behind the ear. "Izn't our next meeting the formal vear one?"

"Unfortunately." Matthew grumbled. "Have to dig out the old uniforms. I think they're in the basement somewhere."

"Let's not leave it to the last minute this time." Gilbert said and Canada nodded in agreement. "Jou need to go pick up papers today?" Matthew nodded. "West apparently needs my help balancing the budget."

"He must just want someone to talk to while doing it." Matthew teased. Prussia just rolled his eyes. Kuma started to nibble on Canada's fingers to remind him that he hadn't fed the bear his lunch. "I'll feed you before I leave in a bit." Blackbird said letting the polar bear keep chewing on his fingers.

The couple sat quietly watching the news for a little while until Germany called. Matthew had stuck around to say hello before letting the brothers get to work. He fed Kuma and got Gilbird out of his hair, also giving him some food before leaving.

It was still winter out so he had to take the truck. The Canadian was sad that his bike was stuck inside for the winter, but was happy enough when the truck warmed up. He was happy he only needed to go into town to pick up papers instead of driving a couple of hours to get to parliament. He was still a bit annoyed they couldn't just email him the paperwork.

Canada sighed stepping out of the truck after finally finding a parking spot. He pulled his hood up and started the short walk to city hall. It was snowing lightly out and it was sticking to the ground. It was starting to get icy. Matthew was happy he wore is boots instead of runners.

Blackbird stepped in the back entrance of the city hall and stamped his feet to get the snow off him. He pulled his hood down shaking the snow off it. He felt his phone ringing in his pocket and pulled it out to see the contact. He leaned against the wall and answered it.

"Hey, Ash. What's up?" Canada asked expecting some new information about a problem ghoul.

"Matt, there's movement close to the boarder. Right near the rainbow bridge." Ash said quite worriedly. "Border patrol has picked it up as well and shut down the bridge."

"Shit, I'll get down there as soon as possible." Matthew said starting to plan in his head. He never thought Alfred would actually make a move.

"I'll contact the others, we'll meet you there." Ash said quickly hanging up before Canada could say anything else. The Canadian immediately called the military to hopefully pull some strings and get a helicopter pickup; otherwise he'd have to drive for two hours.

Blackbird was able to arrange a pickup at the local hospital to get to the falls. The commander briefed him on the current situation as they flew. The nation was going to be taking partial command of his troops along with two other commanders.

The chopper landed in the field beside the Niagara police station dropping them off before taking back to the sky. The local police department was taking care of the evacuation around the boarder and keeping the ones that couldn't leave inside and safe. The air force was moving in a large volume of soldiers, most of them were special tactical units with a few regular ground units. The units were ordered to keep three blocks back while the snipers took up their positions. They were setting up a perimeter to contain the possible invasion.

Matthew had a quick conversation with the other commander before taking his small group of marksmen. They were all splitting up, but keeping in contact with radios. They all hopped into a jeep and were dropped off at their own positions. He was handed a standard issue sniper rifle and an ear piece before heading up. Canada had taken a position front and centre, the parking garage beside the Crowne Plaza hotel.

On his way up the stairs to his position Matthew finally remembered to call Prussia. He felt terrible not keeping the albino in the loop, but he was so focused on protecting his boarder.

"Birdie? Are jou okay? Vhere are jou?" Prussia asked quickly clearly worried.

"I'm alright." Matthew reassured him. He finally reached his spot and peered through his scope taking in the situation first hand. "I'm by the casino by the boarder. There's a lot of equipment over there."

"They're actually doing this." Prussia muttered. Then he cleared his throat. "Ve'll be down there as soon as possible."

"What?" Matthew asked.

"Zola and Shayne picked me up. Ve're about twenty minutes away." Prussia explained.

"You're all coming?" Canada asked confused.

"Ja, Ash told jou this." Gilbert said.

"I must have not been paying attention, eh?" Matthew grumbled. He was watching the boarder carefully. The Americans were still assembling more equipment and hadn't past their booths yet. "Sorry." He apologized.

"Jou definitely had a reason for forgetting." The Prussian reassured him. "I'll see jou soon."


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

**AN: literally chose Niagara because I know the area pretty well.**

_**"Hello, how are you?"** _ **Is from radio**

Matthew kept a close eye on the Americans as they geared up. They weren't exactly hiding or undercover. He could easily shoot one right now, but that would get him in trouble. He needed the Americans to either shoot first or step over the border line.

Canada heard radio chatter that an albino had been looking for him and told them to tell him his exact position. A few minutes later Gilbert and Zola appeared at the top of the stairs of the empty parking lot and Matthew waved him over. Prussia ran over and pulled him into a hug. Shayne was busy typing away on his phone as he walked up. Zola looked over the edge of the wall and squinted to see the troops.

"I vas so vorried." Prussia said as he pulled back. "There is some news going around, some alerts, but nothing solid."

"Sorry I didn't call you sooner." Matthew said with an apologetic smile. "Hopefully those alerts will keep people away."

"The local police have finished the evacuation and have shut down the major highways coming in." Shayne said looking at his phone. "Ash and Blair just got through in time, but Zyler and Amity were already taking back roads. They'll be here soon."

"Okay." Blackbird said looking through his scope again. The Americans had yet to move. It was mostly just a waiting game. Matthew was used to this game, but Zola, Shayne and Gilbert were not. Prussia kept close to the Canadian sliding down to sit against the concrete wall while Zola and Shayne had taken to pacing. Canada suddenly caught a flash of gold hair and tracked it. He bit his lip confirming it was Alfred. "He's here."

"America?" Prussia asked looking over to Matthew who was still concentrating on looking through his scope. The blond gave a small nod and bit his lip. Gilbert could see that Canada's mood had shifted from stressed to nervous. "Kick his ass."

"Oh, I plan on it if I get the chance." Matthew muttered. Zyler and Amity finally made it into town, Blair and Ash weren't far behind. He had heard it over the radio and ordered his troops to let the four of them by. The other marksmen were announcing the fours position as they moved towards them. One of his troops announced that they were entering his parking garage. "Radio silence, please. Only important information." Canada commanded through the radio. Everyone went silent immediately. "Thank you."

The other four had finally got to the top of the stairs and walked over. Matthew nodded in acknowledgment upon their arrival; Zyler went over to look at the bridge.

"There are not a lot of them." Zyler commented. "Well from what I can see."

"Estimates are saying one, maybe two thousand if even." Ash said. They were typing away on their phone.

"Keep back." Matthew warned. "There could be snipers over there."

"There weren't any in the plans they had." Blair said with a shrug. "We should still be very careful though."

"I've already tapped into your radios, Matt." Ash said handing everyone their own ear piece. "This way we can split up and still communicate."

"Alright." Matthew knew to trust his team; he'd worked closely with them for years. "Six new connections, approved by me." Blackbird announced to his men just in case the new voices worried any of them.

"Oh!" Zola chirped. "I brought these too. We can't be running around in civilian clothes. We could get shot at."

Zola pulled out a dark coloured coat and handed one to everyone. Matthew took it and held it up to see it was a RCMP jacket, but instead of being mainly red with black accents, this was mostly black with red accents. It was the reverse of the normal colouring.

"Maybe ve von't have to drag jour dress uniform out." Gilbert joked seeing the jacket. Canada gave a small smile setting his rifle down and taking his coat off before putting the new jacket on. The other ghouls did the same. "Could just ware this."

"Be advised, black and red Mountie jackets are part of our ranks. Just a different 'division.' Don't shoot under any circumstances." Matthew said. He knew that a few of his marksmen were ghouls and hopped that the others that weren't followed the order as well.

 _"Movement. Seven rows of ten soldiers moving towards the boarder."_ One of the other snipers called over the radio. Matthew immediately picked up his rifle again. _"Armed with assault rifles and bullet proof vests."_

Canada looked over the men moving and spotted America front and centre. "Single warning shot only as they step over the plate." The blond said. "Account for the wind."

 _"Yes sir."_ Chirped the other marksmen. As the American troops walked slowly closer Matthew felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He just ignored it and kept his focus on soldiers heading their way. They were just over a meter away from the line that marked the exact boarder.

"Firing in three, two, one." Canada counted down every step until the first Americans toe crossed the line. He fired, the bullet struck close to the soldiers foot and the American hopped back in surprise. The other marksmen had done the same and the Americans put up their guns searching for their positions. Alfred put up an arm to tell his troops to put their guns down. Matthew could see that he was saying something to them before turning back forward and yelling something across the border.

"What's he saying?" Zola asked. Canada tried to read his lips, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

 _"The commander is saying something about talking."_ One of the snipers said. Canada recognized her voice and knew that her position was hidden in one of the security booths at the crossing. " _He wants to talk to who's in charge."_

"That would be me." Matthew said through the radio looking over to Gilbert. "I'll be down in few minutes"

"Jou're not going down there alone." Prussia said putting a hand on his hip.

"I wasn't planning on it." Canada said with a shrug. "I was going to have one of the ground units move up."

"That will take a while." Shayne pointed out. "We can go down with you."

"It will take less time and we'll look less intimidating." Amity said. "There are less of us and we don't exactly scream 'deadly.'"

"Less intimidating might be good." Prussia said. "Jou'd have the element of surprise if jou do need to attack as ghouls."

"Hopefully it won't come to that." Matthew said. Then he turned to the other ghouls. "If it does come to that, are you really willing to show yourself as ghouls? It's pretty much a death sentence. Masks might not be enough to hide behind this time."

"Of course!" Zyler said. The others nodded in agreement. "It's the least we could do. You've kept ghouls across Canada safe for years!"

**AN: I did draw a thing of Mattie with the jacket on. It's on my tumblr ( tallpoppy-canada) under the blackout tag or reverse tag!**


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

"Better not keep him waiting then." Amity said. Matthew nodded agreeing with her. He crouched down and took his mask out of his coat pocket and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

Suddenly, everyone jumped as Prussia's phone started to ring. He quickly pulled it out of his pocket. The albino showed Matthew the contact.

"You can deal with him." Canada said seeing France's contact. He knew that's who must have been calling him earlier. "We've got to get going."

"Fine." Prussia sighed. Matthew patted Gilbert's shoulder as the ghouls went down the stairs to the street. He lingered for a minute giving the Prussian a kiss on the forehead. "Be careful." The albino said.

"I will be, as always." Matthew said with a small smile. Gilbert pulled him in for one last hug before letting him go to call Francis back.

Blackbird caught up with the ghouls as they reached the street and began the short walk to the bridge. Canada was nervous to say the least, but he was also angry. He was pissed that the Americans had the nerve to actually attack Canada. Although Matthew and Alfred didn't have the best relationship, Canada and America did. Matthew's anger and annoyance were probably the only things keeping his fear at bay.

"What's our plan?" Blair asked as they walked past the customs booths onto the bridge.

"Talk, hopefully scare them off." Matthew shrugged.

"You think the seven of us will scare off seventy soldiers?" Ash asked raising an eyebrow.

Blackbird shook his head. "Not at all, but if they do attack we should have the upper hand." He said. "We have the element of surprise and I doubt they'll have Q bullets for all our kagune."

"Famous last words right there Matt." Shayne snorted ducking under the security booths pole.

Finally, the ghouls were in view of the American troops. Canada could see them straighten up when they came into sight. Alfred immediately spotted him and stared him down. The Canadian looked down at his feet and took a breath before he met Alfred's eyes with his own annoyed glare. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach; he knew something was going to happen.

"Matthew." Alfred growled soon as they were in talking distance.

"Alfred." Matthew said narrowing is eyes. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I'm looking to make Canada the fifty first state and rid it of the infestation of ghouls." America said, nose in the air.

"And invading is the best way to do that?" Matthew snapped raising an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't plan on doing it any other way." The American winked with a smirk. Canada felt a shiver go down his spine, but didn't let it show. "Besides, I wanted to bring out the ghouls. It will be fun to hunt them down, but I see one has already appeared." He looked Matthew up and down. Then he glanced at the others. "And maybe six more?"

Canada narrowed his eyes at the comments. Alfred might have known now that he was a ghoul, but was unsure about the others. He didn't care that America knew about him at that point. He was focused on protecting his boarder and people.

"You can't just hunt ghouls down. They have jobs and families, they're just like humans." Matthew said. He was just trying to buy some time. He knew there was no reasoning with America.

"Pfff, yeah okay _bro_." Alfred said rolling his eyes. Some of his soldiers snorted at the remark. "Ghouls don't care about anything accept hunting and killing."

"That's all you're thinking about right now." Matthew pointed out. He could hear his friends shuffling and looked over to see them nodding. "Your current thought process is the same as you say a ghoul's is."

"Mines completely different because it's right." Alfred said crossing his arms. "Besides, your people will thank me once I'm done."

"How do you think it looks for Americans, unprovoked, to attack Canada only to be stopped by ghouls?" Blackbird asked raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms mimicking Alfred. "It wouldn't look to good for you _'bro.'"_

"Enough talking, let's just get to it." America said waving his hand slightly and his troops rushed towards them. The American turned and started to walk back to his own land. The soldiers rushed right by the seven ghouls and ran towards the customs booths.

Matthew began to chase after them, the other ghouls right at his side. He heard the crack of rifles and knew his snipers were at work picking off the closest ones to them. Blackbird released his kagune throwing his mask on as he chased after the Americans. He noticed that the other ghouls had managed to get their masks on as well. In that moment, he couldn't care less that there could be cameras catching everything. All he could think about was protecting his land and people from this invasion.

Canada hopped into the air crystallizing his wings and shooting shards at the soldiers. They hadn't realized until then that the Canadians were chasing after them. The ones that were the closest to him collapsed, shards embedded in their backs. Ash hopped into the centre of the soldiers spinning and slashing at them with their tail. Blair was right next to them using his claws to cut through the troops. Shayne laughed jumping into the chaos with Zola hot on his tail. Zyler and Amity were sticking close together as well.

The soldiers didn't even get a single shot off before the ghouls and snipers had taken them out. Matthew and the other ghouls regrouped looking back to the American side expecting more soldiers to be heading their way, but there were none yet.

"Let's head up again." Canada said to the ghouls as his kagune disappeared. The others nodded and started to move. "They're not done yet." He sighed as they ran.

Blackbird brought up the rear just in case the Americans would try to shoot at them. As they were running, Canada finally realized the gravity of what just happened. Not only had the Americans actually attacked, but America knew he was a ghoul and he had willingly reviled himself as one too. There were so many other things he could have done in that moment, but he'd chose probably the worst one. Matthew pushed it to the back of his mind to deal with later and focused on the situation at hand.

"Let's split up." Matthew suggested. "Go in pairs and hide in different buildings. Keep in touch."

"Going back up to Gil?" Ash asked and Canada nodded.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

**AN:** _**"Hello, how are you?"** _ **Is through radio**

Matthew made the climb back up to his position and found Gilbert still talking on the phone with France. He could almost hear Francis yelling at the albino. Canada walked over pulling his mask down. Gilbert sighed happily spotting him. The Prussian looked drained. Matthew wave for him to give him the phone and he handed it over.

"Have fun." Gilbert whispered aid with a small smile.

"Bonjour Papa." Blackbird greeted interrupting the Frenchman.

"Oh! Matthieu, what is going on?" France demanded quickly. "That albino of yours wouldn't say anything. The news doesn't help either."

"We don't exactly know. America's attacking." Canada explained shifting the phone and pinning it between his ear and shoulder to pick up his rifle.

"America or Alfred?" Francis asked.

"Alfred is here commanding. I don't know how far the order goes back." Matthew admitted. "Alfred wouldn't have this much pull to get this to happen on his own."

"Are you okay?" The blond asked. There must have not been any news cameras around when the ghouls had attacked the Americans or Francis hadn't noticed it was him.

"I'm fine." Matthew sighed peering through his scope watching the soldiers mill around on the other side of the bridge. "Just trying to figure out the best way to go about this."

"Have you spoken to Alfred?" France asked. "I know you two don't have the best relationship, but it could help."

"That's a bit of an understatement." He muttered. "Already tried. It doesn't look like talking will help this time." Matthew shook his head slightly. He spotted a few troops hopping into armed jeeps. "I got to go. I'll call you when I can."

Blackbird hung up handing the phone back to Gilbert. He heard more reports from the other marksmen seeing the same thing.

"Don't fire until they're over the border line." Matthew ordered his men. "Get the drivers and gunners first."

"Vhat did America say?" Prussia asked standing next to Matthew.

"'I'm looking to make Canada the fifty first state and rid it of the infestation of ghouls.'" Canada said imitating America. The seven jeeps were filling up now, but hadn't started to move yet.

"He knows then?" Gilbert asked eyes widened. He must have been too busy with France to see the fight.

"He said that he knew, but I don't know if he actually did. It doesn't matter now." Matthew said lowering his rifle and turning to Prussia. The albino had a very worried look plastered on his face. "I'll have to deal with that later."

"Ve'll have to deal vith that later." Gilbert corrected pulling Canada in for a hug. Matthew held on tight for the moment glad for the support. Prussia let him go, but stayed close as Blackbird picked up his rifle again.

Matthew peered through the scope and watched the Americans closely. He hadn't seen Alfred again yet. The jeeps looked like they were almost filled and some foot-soldiers were filing in behind them.

Matthew watched as the jeeps drove slowly towards the boarder before they begun to pick up speed. The Canadian drew a bead on the driver of the first and as soon as the tires of the jeep crossed over he shot. He quickly reloaded and saw that the first driver wasn't dead; there was just a small spot on the windshield.

 _"Bulletproof glass."_ One of the other marksmen confirmed. Matthew shot at the same spot again and this time the round went through the weakened glass and hit the driver. The jeep veered to the right and left the soldiers behind it exposed. Blackbird reloaded and shot one of the footmen.

The men had scattered, some fell back behind the next jeep while others made a break for the boarder. The other snipers picked of the ones who ran for the boarder. A few had made it by and ducked for cover. The second jeeps had made it through relatively unscathed, accept for the gunner, and rammed through the barrier. The troops grouped up behind it as they started to move towards Clifton Hill.

The snipers weren't able to keep up with the volume of soldiers. Matthew kept shooting and hitting his targets, but it wasn't enough to keep them back.

 _"Three vehicles moving towards the hill."_ One of the marksmen announced. Canada didn't have a good angle to be able to get a shot so he focused on the other jeeps and soldiers that were still coming over the bridge. _"Soldiers breaking off and entering buildings."_

 _"Spotted a few."_ Zyler announced. _"Going after them."_

"Be careful." Blackbird warned reloading and shooting again. The last few soldiers just disappearing out of his line of sight. Matthew growled and lowered his gun.

"Vhere are jou going?" Gilbert asked raising an eyebrow.

"I can't do anything else up here. I'm going down there." Canada sighed grabbing his mask.

"I'm coming vith jou." Prussia said confidently.

Matthew shook his head. "I need you up here to relay information down."

The albino knew not to argue with him at that moment and sighed. "Fine."

"Thanks Pooh Bear." The blond kissed his cheek before putting his mask on and running off.

"Kick some ass Birdie!" Prussia called after him as he disappeared into the stair well. Canada smiled slightly at the comment as he hopped and jumped over the flights of stairs to get to the bottom quicker. He ran through the connected building to the end where the street met up with Clifton Hill.

Blackbird spotted a jeep not too far ahead of him. It must have been the last one in the convoy. He ran after it and the gunner in the back spotted him. The soldier started to shoot. He hopped up into the air and released his kagune wrapping it around his body. He spun landing on top of the jeep and ripped the gunner out of his seat throwing him to the side.

Some soldiers stuck out the windows to shoot at him. Canada took the ones out on the right side with a single sweep of his crystal wing, but the other side opened fire. He gasped feeling bullets rip into his side. Matthew fought through the pain and swept at the other soldiers with his wing. They were expecting it and ducked back into the jeep.

The Canadian growled and jumped into the air and shot crystallized shards of kagune through the roof of the jeep. He could hear the screams from the men inside and sent another burst directly at the gas tank. Blackbird landed in a crouch holding his side as the jeep kept moving for a few feet before exploding.

Matthew ducked into a building to catch his breath for a second. "They've got ukaku Q-bullets." He warned the other ghouls taking a look at his wounds. They were partially healed already. He healed slower than a ghoul, but quicker than a nation. "They could have others, be careful."

**AN: Just describing Clifton Hill and Niagara the way I remember it. It's been a few years since I've been there so things might have changed.  There's apparently a go kart track now.**


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

The wounds had finally healed and Matthew started to move again. He spotted some soldiers running into the midway and followed them.

 _"There are a few civilians in there hiding."_ One of the marksmen that was further up the hill said. _"They're in the back."_

Blackbird picked up his pace to get there quicker. He carefully slipped into the dark arcade. Canada picked up where most of the troops were by scent. The soldiers were already spread out and searching through the arcade. He kept low and stalked up behind one of the men and quickly snapped his neck before moving on.

"Blackbird! Ukaku, change rounds and open fire!" A soldier yelled rounding the corner and spotting him. Canada jumped behind one of the arcade machines as bullets hit the floor where he had been. He rushed around the side were the man was and hopped onto his back stabbing him with his kagune before jumping off.

Matthew landed on top of one of the machines in a crouch before standing and doing a quick sweep of the building. He spotted a few soldiers heading up the stairs.

"Are there any civilians upstairs?" Canada asked quickly also seeing some men getting closer to the back.

 _"There's no one up there._ " The other commander confirmed. Blackbird jumped across the machines until he reached the men that were getting closer to the back of the building. They saw him coming and shot at him, but Canada jumped out of the way before shooting crystals at the men. He managed to hit most of them with the first burst, but missed a couple.

Blackbird dived behind an arcade machine as the men shot at him. He grunted feeling a bullet go through his leg. He waited until they stopped shooting before rushing at them firing more shards. The last few men dropped to the ground, crystals embedded in their chests.

Matthew turned around to see men coming back down the stairs and ducked for cover. They had the high ground and he was pinned down. He heard a loud laugh and peaked around the corner to see Shayne and Zola jumping the men.

"Rinkaku!" One of the men yelled right before Zola stabbed through him with her kagune. The pair started to work on the remaining men as Canada moved towards them to help. It was a bit awkward fighting on the stairs, but the trio managed to take the rest out with no injuries to them.

"I'll check on the people." Matthew said once all the troops were dead. He was still trying to protect the other ghoul's identities as much as possible. "Thanks for the help."

"We'll move up the hill more. There is still a jeep up that way." Zola said as the pair went back up the stairs. Canada let is kagune disappear as he walked slowly towards the back of the arcade.

Blackbird pulled his mask down and his eyes changed back to normal. He saw a few scared eyes peeking out to look at him. He knew that no one else here was a ghoul; some were probably American tourists. A little girl ran out from her cover and without hesitation, gave him a hug. The nation was surprised, but knelt down and hugged her back. She smiled and giggled. Matthew smiled back.

A lady, who Canada assumed was her mother, ran out. She stopped in her tracks seeing the blond. "Jesse, get back here." She said fear in her eyes. "He's dangerous. He'll eat you!"

"No he's nice!" Jesse argued crossing her arms and stomping her foot. "He got rid of the bad guys."

The mom looked like she was going to argue, but she kept quiet. Instead she motioned for her daughter to come back. Jesse waved at Matthew and went back over to the lady. Blackbird stood up from where he was kneeling. He felt more eyes on him.

"Is everyone alright?" Matthew asked meeting a few of the eyes that were staring at him.

"Umm, yes? We're all okay." Jesse's mother said quietly.

"Good, don't move from back here." Canada said. "We'll keep tabs and make sure no more soldiers get into here. We'll try to get you out of here as soon and as safely as possible."

"Okay." The woman nodded and took Jesse's hand. Matthew pulled up his mask and turned to leave. "Thanks."

Canada smiled a little to himself as he left. He looked up and down the street. There was an empty jeep at the top and the one he attacked earlier was still burning.

"Checking in. How's everyone?" Canada asked smelling the wind trying to pick up where the others were.

 _"We're good."_ Blair replied quickly. _"Up by Ripley's theater thing."_

 _"Also okay."_ Amity sighed. _"Just sniffing out the last few in the brewery."_

 _"All good still."_ Zola and Shayne said in sync. Zola continued, _"we're by the sky wheel."_

"Good." Matthew sighed in relief. "Gil? What's going on?"

 _"Not much right now."_ Prussia sighed. _"Jour snipers have most of them pinned down by the booths."_

"Are they're more coming over?" Blackbird asked still scanning the street.

 _"There vill be. Looks like three or four more jeeps and a truck."_ Gilbert said. _"It doesn't look like they have any more vehicles after that."_

 _"They didn't bring much with them."_ Zyler commented.

 _"The trucks are moving now!"_ Prussia said hurriedly. _"They're moving fast."_

"Go for the gunner and gas tank." Matthew commanded. "Don't waste bullets on the drivers."

 _"Yes sir!"_ The marksmen chirped. Canada looked down the street anticipating a truck or two to make it past the boarder. He heard an explosion in the distance and knew his men must have hit a gas tank.

 _"One made it by, coming around the corner."_ Prussia announced. Matthew walked out into the centre of the street seeing the jeep. _"The gunner is vounded, but not dead."_

"See them." Blackbird said as the jeep sped right at him. The gunner started to fire at him, but he didn't move. He knew that there weren't Q rounds for that big of a gun. Matthew released his kagune and still stood still. He waited until the jeep was a meter in front of him before jumping into the air. He sent a burst of shards at the gunner, landing on the roof.

The Canadian jumped back into the air and shot another burst of crystals at the back, angled towards the gas tank. He landed gracefully on the ground and covered himself with his kagune as the jeep exploded.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

**AN: Radio stuff is still in italics!**

_"Troop truck made it through."_ Prussia said. _"Vent through three drivers. They pushed the old ones out and kept going."_

 _"We've got it."_ Amity said. It sounded like she was running. _"Zyler and I are right there."_

 _"Want help?"_ Zola asked.

 _"Nah, we're okay!"_ Zyler called. Matthew could hear some gun fire in the distance. He could also still here a few shots coming from his marksmen.

 _"Some footmen made a break for it."_ Gilbert announced. _"Thirty or so started, but only about twenty made it by. They vent around the back of the Hard Rock."_

"I'll sniff them out." Canada said crossing the street and going into the building. He found the back door into the alley and stopped to listen. He could hear footsteps, but they were down the hill and coming his way. He waited until they had passed by and pushed out into the alley.

The men closest to the back noticed him right away and attempted to change cartridges as Canada released his kagune. Matthew made quick work of the first line slashing at them with his sharpened wings. The second row still hadn't had time to get their Q bullets before he began to attack them. Blackbird shot crystal shards at them hitting the majority of the soldiers.

The last few soldiers had managed to get the right cartridges. They started to shoot at him, but Canada didn't back down. He slashed at the ones closest to him, but one of the bullets hit him. He let out a strangled cry feeling it skim his neck and collar bone. He felt another pair of bullets rip into his shoulder.

Matthew fought through the burning pain and killed the last remaining soldiers as fast as he could. He paused for a minute to catch his breath and let the wounds start to heal. The Canadian wasn't used to this kind of pain; he'd never been hit by Q bullets before. He caught his breath and looked back down the alley to see if there were more men heading his way. He didn't see or smell any.

"What's going on over there Gil?" Canada asked rotating his shoulder. It wasn't quite healed yet.

 _"Not much, there's no jeeps left over there. There are a few soldiers trying to pass by taking cover behind the wrecked jeeps."_ Prussia explained. _"The snipers are taking care of them though."_

"This is almost over then." Matthew sighed. "Zyler, how's that truck coming?"

 _"All clear! There's a few running back over."_ Zyler replied. _"We're just letting them go."_

"Yeah, just let them leave." Blackbird said agreeing. He went back inside the building and back onto the street. Matthew looked up and down the hill, but spotted no movement. He was starting to relax a little. He hadn't noticed that clouds had moved in until it started to rain. It was a light rain that froze as it hit the ground.

 _"Shit! One of the soldiers was a ghoul!"_ Blair yelled. Canada could hear the sounds of fighting not too far away and ran towards the sound. _"She's a chimera, koukaku and ukaku!"_

"I'm on my way." Matthew replied nearing the fight. He heard a yell and knew it was Blair. Canada ran faster rounding the corner of the building and spotting the ghouls. Ash was busy protecting an injured Blair, but they were way in over their head. As soon as Matthew entered the alley the American turned towards him and ignored the other two.

"Ah, there's the one we were looking for!" She smiled stalking slowly towards him. She had a sword like blade shaped kagune on her left arm and sharp insect wings on her back. Canada had only dealt with a few chimeras in his life time. He knew if they had a good amount of fight experience they were deadly.

Matthew took a few steps back as the American ghoul continued towards him. He released his kagune ready for her first attack. She slashed at him with her sword, but he ducked under it. Blackbird moved quickly hopping into the air and flipping over her. He went to slash at her wings with his own, but she turned and stopped him with her sword. She pushed back trying to knock him off balance.

Canada let her knock him back to get some distance between them. He shot a blast of shards at her, but they were only a distraction. As she blocked the crystals, he rushed at her. The nation slid under her sword and slashed at her legs. He rolled back onto his feet as she was recovering. He was starting to tire, the amount of fights and healing he'd done that day were wearing him down.

"You're a tricky thing." She growled spitting on the ground. She suddenly smirked turning to where Ash was tending to Blair. Canada growled and tackled her to the ground. The American ghoul quickly pushed him off. He didn't have enough time to recover in the air and slammed into the alley wall. He coughed trying to catch the wind that was knocked out of him.

Matthew tried to get up, but she was already there and stepped on his back keeping him down. He pushed back against her weight, but couldn't get her off. She had all her weight on his back and there was a lot of pressure on his ribs. The Canadian felt like they were about to break. He saw her bring the sword close to his back and growled. He twisted slightly and shot sharp crystal shards at her point blank. She howled in pain and staggered back. Canada climbed to his feet and put himself in between her and his ghouls.

The American ghoul was not in good shape. She had shards of crystal imbedded in her face, neck and chest. Blackbird wasn't going to show any mercy with this woman. He charged at her and before she could even react, he stabbed right through her with his sharpened wing. She let out a choked cough as Canada pulled away. The woman collapsed in a heap still barely breathing.

Matthew watched her for a moment to make sure she wasn't going to get back up. He turned and ran over to where Blair and Ash were. Ash put Blair's arm around their shoulders and helped him up. Canada took his other arm and helped the pair. Blair had along deep cut on the back of his right leg and a few smaller cuts on his hip. They looked like they were healing well. The trio walked out of the alley, Blair between Matthew and Ash.

"Haven't seen a chimera in a while." Blair commented. Ash rolled their eyes with a smile. "They're a pain."

"Yeah, a real pain in the leg, eh?" Ash teased. "Are the Americans done?"

"Seems like it, for now at least." Matthew sighed running his unoccupied hand through his hair. He cringed noticing there was some blood matted in his hair. "We'll have to find the last few soldiers and chase them back over or arrest them or something."

"Hopefully they'll leave peacefully." Ash said and the other two nodded in agreement.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Canada had called for the other commander to pull their perimeter in to search for any soldiers that could still be around. They had taken Blair back up to the parking garage where Prussia was. The albino was busy talking on the phone in German. Matthew assumed it was Germany. They carefully sat Blair down against the wall and Ash stuck close to him. His wounds were mostly healed now, but he still needed rest.

Blackbird went over and picked up his rifle to get a better look at the damage. There were a few damaged and completely wrecked jeeps littered along the bridge. There were body's everywhere. He spotted a few soldiers pulling their comrade back to the American side. He didn't realize the amount of soldiers that had invaded until he saw the amount of bodies on the bridge. His marksmen had taken out the brunt of the attack.

"Matthew?" Gilbert asked turning to him. "West vants to talk to you." He said hanging the phone to him. Canada took it. Prussia whispered quietly. "He only knows America attacked that's it."

Matthew nodded putting the phone up to his ear. "Hello Germany."

"Hallo Canada, how are jou?" Germany asked politely.

"I'm alright, what about you?" Canada replied stiffly.

"Just fine. Now, news is just coming out about the situation between jou and America. Ve vill be needing to set up a meeting and discuss vhat this means." Ludwig explained. "Ve'll set it up for in a veek in a neutral nation."

"I won't be willing to leave my land for quite a while. If you want a meeting in a week, it will have to be here." Blackbird said firmly.

He could hear a pen scratching on the other end before Germany replied. "Of course, I understand. I'll see vhat I can set up." He sighed. "I'll be in contact vith jou or Gilbert."

"Okay, thanks." Matthew said before hanging up and giving the phone back to the albino. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and turned to see the other four ghouls. "You guys okay?"

"We're good." Shayne said with a smile. Then he yawned. "'Bout ready for a nap though."

"You guys can go, it will be mostly clean up and politics now." Canada sighed. "Lay low though, I don't know if the CCG will be out."

"We'll keep close to each other and quiet." Blair said standing up. Ash was still beside him.

"I'll keep tabs on the CCG and watch the Americans still. We all had masks so hopefully, they can't pinpoint our identities." Ash said with a small smile.

"Let me know if they're getting close to finding out, I'll push them a different direction." Matthew said. The other ghouls nodded as they started off. He radioed for the other commander to let them by to get to their cars.

"Do jou think the CCG will figure it out?" Prussia asked tracing the almost healed graze wound on the Canadians neck.

"I hope not, but there are cameras everywhere and all of the marksmen and American troops saw us. The cameras are probably crappy quality; the Americans wouldn't be too reliable considering they attacked us. The marksmen are a mixed bag. Same with the people in the midway." Blackbird sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. He was a bundle of nerves. "I'm betting on most of the focus being on me and not the others."

"Ve'll have to see vhat they'll come out vith." Gilbert sighed. "I hate this vaiting."

"I do too." Matthew said biting his lip.

"On the bright side, jou kicked America's ass." Prussia smirked wrapping his arms around Canada's waist. Matthew smiled rolling his eyes. He was happy that he was able to get more than one sentence out when talking to Alfred. "Vhat are ve going to do now?"

"I don't know." Blackbird shrugged. He pulled away from Prussia to look over to the bridge again. "I don't think we need to stay for the cleanup, I'll have a lot of paperwork to do."

"I guess so." Prussia shrugged as Canada grabbed his rifle. He also picked up his coat and took his jacket off. He switched the two, putting on his coat. Matthew would have to remember to ask Zola to sew up the holes. He really liked the jacket and wanted to wear it again at some point. "Vait, how are ve going to get home?"

"Oh right." Canada laughed realizing their situation. "Maybe we'll stay here for a bit until we can get a ride back."

"Good idea. Let's go find a hotel?" Gilbert suggested and Matthew nodded.

-❄"Look at all those chickens."❄-

The two nations ended up staying by the falls for a few days. There were mountains of paperwork to do. It seemed like he had just finished a stack before another was set in front of him. It was mostly to release the American soldiers bodies back to their families. Prussia helped anywhere he could. He had to remind the blond that he actually needed to sleep.

A lot of people were displaced by the evacuations that were just now able to get back to their homes. The damage on Clifton Hill was slowly being repaired after all the wreckage and bodies had been removed. The Canada-US boarder remained closed across the whole country. The Canadian border patrol had ramped up its security around the open boarders as well. They weren't allowing any flights from the US in either. They were allowing flights from everywhere else in as normal, but if there was a US citizen on board they were screened more in depth.

The American government hadn't released a statement on the events or even really acknowledged that it happened. The Canadian government had already spoken out about what exactly had happened. There had been quite a bit of backlash against the Americans. There was talk about sanctions being put on them by the UN.

There had been a few reports on the news about ghouls, even the Red-Winged Blackbird, had possibly helped the Canadian soldiers. The government wasn't even denying it. A few reporters had managed to track down and interview some of his marksmen. They weren't denying it either and were defending the ghouls. Both the government and the soldiers refused to release any information about their identities.

Someone had found and released some really low resolution footage of the ghouls meeting the American soldiers on the bridge. There was no way to accurately figure out any of their identities. Matthew was relieved slightly seeing this. He had also learned later that power to the buildings on Clifton Hill had been cut off during the attack. The boarder security booths were the only place that had power and that footage had already been leaked.

Matthew didn't have to worry much about his ghouls. They had been lucky this time, but he didn't want to put them in that much danger again. The Canadian CCG was investigating, but wasn't really getting anywhere.

Germany had called the next day. He had managed to book a conference hall in the Hilton hotel in Niagara. It was scheduled for a week after the attack. Canada was very nervous for the meeting. He knew that Alfred knew that he was a ghoul. There was nothing stopping the American from telling the other nations.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty One

The day of the meeting finally rolled around. Matthew had finished up the last bit of paperwork he had before attempting to have a nap. He was so tired, but still couldn't sleep. Gilbert had left to find some breakfast and brought back coffee for him.

Canada sat up in the bed as Prussia sat down next to him. He gave him a kiss before handing him the coffee. "Get any sleep?" The albino asked and Matthew shook his head. He wrapped his free arm around the blond's waist and scooted closer. "It's still early, jou still got time."

Matthew shrugged slightly taking a small sip of the coffee before setting it on the side table. He slid back down into the covers and rested his head in Prussia's lap. The older nation sighed contently and started to play with his hair. Canada felt a lot better with Gilbert being there; he was calmer. He was able to fall asleep for about an hour until Prussia had to wake him up.

The pair had managed to get to the meeting just in time. They still haven't been able to get home or back to their truck.

As they walked into the lobby, Matthew looked around and spotted a few nations scattered here and there. He didn't see or smell Alfred around yet. Germany spotted them as they entered and came over. Italy followed close behind waving at them.

"Hallo, brother, Canada." The blond greeted. "Jou're barely on time."

"Sorry." Canada apologized. "I slept in."

"No need to apologize, jou veren't late." Germany said. "America is running late. His flight vas delayed and he'll be about fifteen minutes late."

"How is he late?" Prussia grumbled. "He's got one of the least distance to go."

"He had to take a flight to England before-a coming here." Italy explained with a smile.

"Boarders are still closed." Canada shrugged. "I didn't get an email or anything asking for an exception." Not that the Canadian would have given him one anyway.

The next fifteen minutes were spent wandering around and talking to different nations. The pair had stopped to talk to Britain and France, reassuring them that Matthew was fine. They were asking a lot of questions that the Canadian wasn't answering. Gilbert had noticed that Canada was starting to go quiet. He knew that the blond was getting anxious by how silent he was. Prussia took Matthew's hand and squeezed letting him know that he was there. Canada looked down and gave him a small slightly relived smile.

It was almost a half hour before America finally arrived. Germany wave for all the nations to head into the actual meeting room. Canada and America were seated right across the table from each other. Alfred kept glaring at him any chance he got.

"Vell, vere do ve start?" Germany sighed at the head of the table. He scratched the back of his neck before starting into the few facts he knew about the situation. "That's all ve really know. Canada, care to give more of a timeline?"

Matthew started to explain what happened on his side of the boarder. He gave almost every detail only leaving out information about the identity of the ghouls and himself.

"Not surprising you're protecting them too." Alfred said threateningly. He narrowed his eyes and waited for Canada to say something. The Canadian knew that America was going to oust him. He smirked and asked, "Who is the Red-Winged Blackbird, Matthew?"

Canada bit his lip and looked over to Prussia. The albino shrugged raising an eyebrow. They had talked a little bit about what to do if America brought it up. They had decided it would be better if Canada just came clean and told the nations. He didn't like breaking the promise to his mother, but it would be better told from him than anyone else.

"I am." Matthew confidently said with a shrug. Most of the nations looked surprised eyes widening in fear. Everyone was much to calm for what he just told them. Of course it was hard to believe that the normally quiet Canadian was a ghoul.

"There's no way you are." England said rolling his eyes dismissively.

"Oh, no. It's true." Alfred said getting up from where he was sitting. "I've had other ghouls confirm it. "

"And you trust these ghouls?" Francis asked.

"No, I didn't. I've seen him myself." America shrugged. "They're very simple creatures. They'll do almost anything for some good meat. Including being waiters and constantly bothering someone."

"Those waiters were pestering Canada a lot." Russia said.

"A flash of the eyes and they run." Matthew said under his breath.

"They followed us after too." Prussia said.

"They were supposed to attack you, but chickened out." America growled. "If you want something done, do it yourself."

"And is that why you attacked your brother?" China asked.

"We are not brothers." They snapped at the same time. America glared at China at the suggestion.

"Yeah of course that's why I attacked!" America said loudly. "We wanted to rid Canada of the ghouls!"

"Even if Canada is a ghoul you still had no reason to attack his country!" France argued. "He hasn't done anything to provoke the attack!"

"Why are you defending him? He's a ghoul! His people are ghouls!" America yelled angrily. "I had every right to attack. I was protecting my people!"

"I never made a move to attack your people. My ghouls are peaceful." Blackbird said calmly. "You made yourself look bad by attacking me."

Alfred looked beyond angry. He was furious that the nations were taking Canada's side. "You've got to be kidding me! He's dangerous, he's killed people, he eats people! How can you take his side?" The American demanded.

"Ve are not talking about Matthew right now." Germany said. "Ve are talking about America attacking its ally Canada with no apparent reason."

"I had a reason!" America argued slamming his fist down on the table.

"You might have had a reason to attack Matthew, but America as a whole did not have a reason to attack Canada. You can't attack a country because of one person." Arthur yelled also getting up from his seat. France was right at his side. "That should have remained personal and you shouldn't have brought your whole nation into this. Do you not understand the repercussions?"

America crossed his arms and glared at the pair. "I'm the best damn country in the world. I can do what I want."

"No, you can't." Russia snapped also rising from where he was sitting. Other nations were getting out of their seats and yelling at the American.

"Enough!" Germany yelled pinching the bridge of his nose. All the nations fell silent. "It is clear that ve are in agreement that there should be some kind of punishment for America. Ve vill tell our decision to the UN and they'll go further." The German said. A few of the nations sat back down, but America remained standing. "Now, let's talk about Canada."

**AN: One more chapter left! Almost done, but there is going to be a sequel! I really enjoyed writing this and wanted to do more. The first chapter will be posted with the last chapter of this this Thursday.**


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two

"Now, let's talk about Matthew." Germany said looking over to the nation. Other nations were watching him closely. "Is this true?"

Matthew nodded. "Yes, it's true."

"Is there any way you can actually prove this?" England asked. He still didn't quite believe him. He couldn't imagine the colony he had a hand in raising was a ghoul. The Englishman knew he would have noticed.

Canada pulled his mask out of his pocket and set it on the table. He also found a spare card and set it next to the mask. There weren't many other items that would define the Blackbird more to most people. He also blinked and changed his eyes. A few of the nations gasped seeing the mask then looked up to see the eyes. They looked at the blond terrified. Matthew blinked and switched his eyes back.

France still looked at him with disbelief. "But, you can cook. I've seen you eat!"

"Yeah, I can cook. I can eat human food, but I can't digest it. I have to throw it up later or I'll get sick." Canada explained. He was trying to appear the least threatening as possible. He knew that all the nations were judging him. "There are some situations where it would be awkward if I didn't eat."

"Then you do kill people?" France asked. Alfred had finally taken a seat and was just staring Canada down. "And you eat them?"

"Yes, I do kill people." Matthew shrugged. He was surprised by the basic questions. "And I do eat them." There were a few nations that shifted uncomfortably in their seats. "Don't worry; I have no intentions of eating you. I only really kill other criminals."

"How can we be so sure?" America growled.

"You don't smell good to a ghoul." Canada explained.

"Excuse me?" France asked offended. Prussia laughed.

"I mean, you don't smell bad, but you don't smell like food." Matthew corrected quickly with a smile.

"Is there any other nation ghouls?" Japan asked speaking for the first time.

"No, I'm the only one." Blackbird shook his head. "I don't think there was one ever before either."

"Then how did you learn to hide it so well?" China asked glancing over to Britain and France.

"Native America knew. She taught me how to act like a human and hide my habits." Matthew explained.

"She knew and Prussia knows? They're the only two?" France asked raising an eyebrow. Canada nodded. "How long has he known for?"

"Only twentyish years." The Canadian said crossing his arms defensively. He didn't like how they were bringing Gilbert into this now.

"And you stayed vith him even after learning that he vas a ghoul?" Germany asked.

"Hell yes! Birdie has never done anything to hurt me." Gilbert said with a big smile. "Of course I vas kind of angry at first because he didn't tell me, but I got over it."

"By being a ghoul yourself, it keeps other ghouls out of your country then?" Japan asked. "Is this why your ghoul attack rate is so low?"

"Not at all." Matthew said. He was happy that the focus had shifted back to him. They were having an actual conversation instead of the other nations just being scared of him. He had a good relationship with everyone in the room. They knew him as a peaceful nation. "By being a ghoul, I can face the problem ghouls I have head on and take care of them myself. I'm fine with ghouls living on my land as long as they're not killing people."

"How are there ghouls if they cannot eat?" China asked. "The population must be low."

"I have probably the highest ghoul to human ratio. The attack rate is so low because they're all fed." Canada explained. "You know that Blackbird is also known for contracted hits?" The blond asked. Most of the nations nodded. He was surprised that no one had brought it up yet. "The money I get from that goes towards a system that feeds the ghouls all across Canada."

"So, you have the highest concentration of ghouls, but the lowest attack rate because of a nation wide system that feeds the ghouls?" Arthur summed up. Matthew nodded. "How do you feed them? Where does the meat come from? Is it still human?"

"Yes, it's human meat. The funeral homes around the country 'harvest' the meat. It's all technically 'legal' since it's mentioned in the paperwork." Canada said. He sighed. "Ghouls are just like normal people, they have jobs and families just like humans and should be treated the same."

"I kind of agree with that. Ghouls are some of our citizens and they should be cared for the same as our human ones." England said nodding. "We as nations have neglected that for centuries."

"But ghouls kill and eat our human citizens!" America said speaking up for the first time in a while. "How can we just ignore that?"

"They wouldn't kill our citizens if we had systems in place like Canada." France said. "Does your government know about this system?"

"Not exactly. Why do you think I take contracts? It's got to get funded somehow." Matthew sighed running a hand through his hair. "Parts of the government know because some of them are ghouls. It's kind of weird though, the humans seem to know that there are a lot of ghouls around, but don't care or question it. It's pretty much an open secret."

"It's amazing that none of us have picked up on it while visiting." England shook his head. Matthew could tell he was still in shock.

"I did." Alfred said. He sounded defeated. "We're just going to let him go unchecked?"

"What other choice would be better?" France asked. "He's providing food and safety for the ghouls. Where would they be without him?" He paused for a second. "They'd most likely go to you, America. They'd be hungry and killing your citizens."

America shook his head. "Then we'd just kill them all!"

"There would be no way that your CCG could keep up with the number of ghouls that would come over." The Canadian said. "They wouldn't kill inside my boarders most likely. They'd still be scared of the Blackbird and they've built up relationships with humans."

"Even if you were equipped to handle all those ghouls, what would we do with Canada?" England demanded shaking his head. "Sure, there is ghoul jail and all that, but we're immortal. He's most likely dangerous and sneaky enough to break his way out and escape. I believe by letting him free, we can keep tabs and watch him."

"I'm going to continue taking contracts." Matthew said. "I need to keep the flow of money going. Maybe in the future I can get government approval, but for now, I will be going the same as I have been."

"But," America started again, but England cut him off.

"Really, Alfred? What can we do to him? He's his own independent nation. We are not police or CCG." Arthur said crossing his arms. "What he does is not our concern. If the police or CCG is able to track him down and prove that he is the Red-Winged Blackbird then he'll face whatever consequences then."

Matthew sighed in slight relief. He didn't mind that England was subtly throwing him under the bus in the future, but understood that nations only had so much power in the legal systems. Canada also knew that that day would come at some point and he would have to deals with the consequences. He hoped that was way in the future and the public view around the world of ghouls would change.

**Finished March 1st 2018**

**AN: Done! First chapter of the sequel should already be posted or I'm just finishing up publishing ;) It is called 'Tempest.'**

 

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